PREOCCUPATIONS ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM ILL AT EASE OUT EVERYWHERE MAY 9th
PREOCCUPATIONS
ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM ILL AT EASE
OUT EVERYWHERE MAY 9th
ANNOUNCE 2025 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
Today, Canadian post-punk quartet Preoccupations announce their fifth LP, Ill at Ease, out everywhere May 9th via Born Losers Records. Furthermore, the band gives listeners an early taste of what they can expect from the upcoming album with new single “Focus,” out now.
An introspective track tinged with goth and darkwave undertones, “Focus” explores the stress of our everyday lives in a modern society. INXS-inspired guitars backs singer Matt Flegel’s smooth vocals as he quips, “The diagnosis is, I’m doing my best.” The single is accompanied by a hauntingly captivating music video, composed of VHS clips of various cults and their leaders.
“Focus...or the lack thereof. Shame and regret: waking up with it, not being able to sleep because of it, and finally falling asleep and having nightmares about it,” shares Flegel. “I put myself a thousand years in the future with these same feelings. While having so many better things to be worried about, as the world falls apart, still finding it impossible to look past meaningless misgivings.”
PRE-ORDER ILL AT EASE HERE
The band’s first release since 2022’s acclaimed Arrangements, Ill at Ease also marks the group’s first release with Born Losers. The record finds Preoccupations drawing upon new inspiration, both sonically and from lived experiences, to create the dynamic eight tracks that make up the project. Ill at Ease maintains the groups signature post-punk sound that’s earned them accolades from Pitchfork, Brooklyn Vegan, and others, while drawing upon the nostalgia from the music of the 80’s and 90’s that served as a major influence for the album.
“The well of dark things to write about seemingly has not dried up, and lyrically, it’s where I still tend to draw from. Draining all my anxieties into a song is often the only way I can get through a day. Some songs exist in a world with barren plains of burnt earth, covered in a dust of shame, dread, death, where all the things I love are things that kill me,” explains Flegel. “Some come from the perspective of another distant world, looking skyward into a science fiction ocean of space, solitude, slight hope. Sometimes I’m looking around at the world that we live in now with incredulity, hilariously dissatisfied with how it’s all turned out, and assuming that it can’t be long before it’s all over. Some songs are just a reflection of me looking down at my feet while I trudge along wondering what I’m doing with myself, and if the ground is going to fall out from underneath me at any given moment.”
In March, the band will bring their revered live shows across the country in support of the album, hitting cities across North America including Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City. The tour will be Preoccupation’s first tour since 2023, marking a triumphant return to the road. Artist presale begins February 12th at 10am local, followed by local presale on February 13th and general onsale on February 14th at 10am local. A full list of dates can be found below, and fans can purchase tickets HERE.
PREOCCUPATIONS TOUR DATES
05/22/25 Montréal, QC @Bar Le Ritz PDB
05/23/25 Ottawa, ON @The 27 Club
05/24/25 Toronto, ON @Lee’s Palace
05/27/25 Detroit, MI @Lager House
05/31/25 Chicago, IL @The Empty Bottle
06/01/25 Minneapolis, @MN 7th St Entry
06/04/25 Calgary, AB @Commonwealth
06/06/25 Vancouver, BC @Wise Hall
06/07/25 Seattle, WA @Madame Lou’s
06/08/25 Portland, OR @Polaris Hall
06/10/25 San Francisco, CA @Rickshaw Stop
06/12/25 Los Angeles, CA @Lodge Room
06/13/25 San Diego, CA @Casbah
06/17/25 Austin, TX @Parish
06/18/25 Denton, TX @Rubber Gloves
06/20/25 Nashville, TN @The Blue Room-Third Man Records
06/21/25 Atlanta, GA @The Masquerade(Purgatory)
06/22/25 Raleigh, NC @Kings
06/24/25 Washington, DC @Songbyrd Record Cafe
06/25/25 Philadelphia, PA @Johnny Brenda’s
06/27/25 New York, NY @Bowery Ballroom
06/29/25 Cambridge, MA @Middle East Upstairs
About Preoccupations
Preoccupations is a Canadian post-punk band from Calgary, Alberta, formed in 2012 under the name Viet Cong. The band consists of Matt Flegel (vocals, bass), Scott Munro (guitar, synth), Daniel Christiansen (guitar) and Mike Wallace (drums). Flegel and Wallace had previously been members of the band Women, which broke up in 2010. The group's musical style has been described as "labyrinthine post-punk.”
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Photo Credit: Yoonha Park / Marlaena Moore / Jon Sherman
