Tune-Yards end hibernation with their "Better Dreaming" record

After a four-year hiatus, the Oakland, California-based art-pop family Tune-Yards released their sixth studio album. Better Dreaming dropped last week with listening parties in New York and L.A. and a show at Billy Jones and Tom Moore’s(Baby’s All Right) new project, Night Club 101, located in the classic Manhattan Pyramid Club (scroll for upcoming tour dates).

The duo-turned-trio’s sixth studio effort captures many of the strengths fans have come to expect from their music. Vulnerability and emotion stick at the forefront of the this project as the new parents, Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner, invite us inside their home to view glimpses of their family life and hear songs that feel like they are sung to a toddler over a sink of sudsy water or while toys are touted to their homes.

Leo, their son, can be heard throughout the album’s interludes and his vocals are featured in the song Limelight. Within their vulnerability, you can also feel a vein of anger or restlessness running through the album. This feeling is seemingly a result of the political climate in America, as the album’s reported original title was set to be Fight Fascism with Trash Music. The music shares the sentiment of the proposed album title with a mix of negativity and frankness, with levity and optimism. Their lyrics act as a call to action rather than just rage:

“I don’t feel, or I don’t feel so well/Sick from living through this fiery hell/Turn away from those who hate you/Turn to meet the ones that keep you warm/Turn away the absent future/Come away, and we’ll become the swarm.”

Gabrus, through her still powerful vocals, gives us the opportunity to feel that anger with her and feel the catharsis of the music designed to make you want to dance-to shake that anger out of your joints to the chugging rhythm of Nate Brenner’s bass and drums.

Better Dreaming is a clear evolution in the Tune-Yards’ sound. Some of their time between albums was spent working with fellow Oakland musician Boots Riley to score his projects, Sorry to Bother You and I’m a Virgo. Some of the time was spent building the family and centring their focus around the hearth of home. These influences seem to take effect on their sound as a storyline webs its way through the album, painting vivid pictures of a life at home and of a need for community and hope to weather an oncoming storm. The music is less the musings of a young couple at the forefront of the scene, but rather a concrete vision of two artists who know what they want to say and how they want to say it, and of course, fun-loving dancer and singer Leo.

Tune-Yards global tour dates

June 11 – Los Angeles, CA, The Bellwether
June 13 – Berkeley, CA, UC Theatre
June 14 – Felton, CA, Felton Music Hall
June 15 – Menlo Park, CA, The Guild
June 17 – Eugene, OR, WOW Hall
June 18 – Portland, OR, Wonder Ballroom
August 16 – Elora, ON, Canada, Riverfest Elora
August 23 – Carnation, WA, THING
September 6 – Evanston, IL, Evanston Folk Festival
September 9 – Fort Collins, CO, New Belgium Brewery *
September 10 – Boulder, CO, Chautauqua Auditorium *
September 11 – Boulder, CO, Chautauqua Auditorium *
September 14 – San Diego, CA, Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay *
September 20 – Camden, NJ (XPN) – XPoNential Music Festival
September 22 – Washington, DC – Howard Theatre
September 24 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
September 25 – Atlanta, GA – Terminal West
September 26 – Nashville, TN – Exit/In
September 27 – St. Louis, MO – Off Broadway
September 29 – Indianapolis, IN – HI-FI
September 30 – Milwaukee, WI – Vivarium
October 1 – Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line
October 2 – Madison, WI – The Majestic
October 4 – Kalamazoo, MI – Bell’s Back Room
October 5 – Detroit, MI – El Club
October 6 – Columbus, OH – Skullys
October 8 – Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smalls Theatre
October 9 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
November 15 – Berlin, Germany, Festsaal Kreuzberg
November 17 – Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tolhuistuin
November 18 – Gent, Belgium, Wintercircus
November 19 – Paris, France, La Bellevilloise
November 21 – Brighton, UK, Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts
November 22 – London, UK, Royal Festival Hall
November 23 – Manchester, UK, Aviva Studios
November 25 – Leeds, UK, Irish Centre
November 26 – Glasgow, UK, St Luke’s
November 27 – Sunderland, UK, The Fire Station
November 29 – Dublin, Ireland, Whelan’s