For a fan of both words and music, the phrase “songs of malaise and miscommunication set to dark pop and glitch-riddled chamber funk” is like a siren song in a sea of mundanity. Well, that is a bit much, but it’s a rad turn of phrase, no? More importantly, it makes me excited to hear the sophomore release from Fol Chen, a Highland Park, CA sextet that has created quite a buzz on the local scene while even gaining some major national attention for their 2009 debut, Part I: John Shade, Your Fortune’s Made. Among the band’s supporters: NPR, BBC, SPIN, and MOJO. Not to mention a  video collaboration with the Laker Girls! This is not your mother’s art-rock band.

Part II: The New December, due for release on July 6th via Asthmatic Kitty, will pick up musically where the first album left off, this time with the help of members of Liars, singer Kárin Tatoyan, and songwriter Simone White. As for the plot, well, I’ll let the press release explain: “The struggle alluded to in Part I has left Fol Chen’s world frayed–covered in ash, plagued by acid rain–and its population dazed. The members of Fol Chen, once a ragtag team of insurgents, are now bureaucrats forced to sit back and watch as the cipher they relied upon to defeat Shade mutates into a virus that eats words indiscriminately.” I know, right, again?

The Liars collaboration must have worked out, because Fol Chen will be opening the Liars’ city-hopping tour, which began in L.A. this past Saturday, April 10th. CoS was there and you can read our live report here, and be sure to check out this trippy shit when it comes to your town (your town will only receive said visit if it is a giant city). Check out the tour dates and an mp3 below.

Check Out:
“In Ruins”

Fol Chen 2010 Tour Dates:
04/14 - Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel ^
04/15 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom ^
04/16 - Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church ^
04/17 - Boston, MA @ The Paradise Lounge ^
04/18 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg ^
04/27 - San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s ^
04/29 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre ^
04/30 - Vancouver, BC @ Venue ^
05/01 - Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s ^
05/11 – Padova, IT @ Unwound ^
05/12 – Milan, IT @ Magnolia ^
05/13 – Rome, IT @ Init ^
05/14 – Bologna, IT @ Bronson ^
05/15 – Lyon, FR @ Nuits Sonores Festival
05/16 – Lausanne, FR @ Le Romandie ^
05/18 – Strasbourg, FR @ La Laiterie ^
05/19 – Paris, FR @ Maroquinerie ^
05/20 – Munich, DE @ Kranhalle ^
05/21 – Berlin, DE @ Volksbuhne ^
05/22 – Hamburg, DE @ Indra ^
05/24 – Ultrecht, NL @ De Helling ^
05/25 – Amsterdam, NL @ Trouw ^
05/26 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique ^
05/27 – London, UK @ Shepherds Bush Empire ^

^ = w/ Liars