Highspire Announce First Tour in a Decade

NEW YORK, NY, June 19, 2013

Shoegaze/dream-pop band Highspire have announced their return to the live stage with 14 dates in the Midwest and Northeast U.S. this July. The journey includes a mainstage set at First Avenue in Minneapolis for the inaugural Bathysphere festival on July 6, and a Daytrotter taping on July 7. These will be the band's first shows in 10 years. The touring band features members of The Morning After Girls and Soren Well.

Highspire is the aural megacosm of Alex White and EJ Hagen. White and Hagen founded the band in Philadelphia in 1999, releasing the To Tomorrow's Highways EP in 2001 and touring along the East Coast with a revolving cast of personnel for the first part of the decade.

Highspire's debut album, Your Everything, was released on Clairecords in 2004. The record's blend of Brit-pop, shoegaze, and triphop, was met with fervent acclaim and won them a core of fans internationally. Critics compared elements of their sound to Ride, the Charlatans, Slowdive, Bowery Electric, Radiohead, and Massive Attack.

Many compilation appearances followed over the next few years, while White and Hagen focused their energies on other projects, eventually reconvening as members of Australia-via-NYC psych-rockers The Morning After Girls.

The long-awaited second Highspire LP, Aquatic, was released in 2010. The album found the core duo in a more ambient, dreamy state, with many of the same elements from their earlier work -- dizzying, cascading guitars, far-out vocals, and twisting melodies -- smoothed-over and expanded. Sleight of Hand for the Down and Out, a compilation of selected rarities, followed in 2011.

The July tour coincides with a new wave of critical notice for Your Everything, which was recently ranked in the Top 100 Shoegaze Albums of All Time by the website Sounds Better With Reverb. The shows will feature the first live performances of many of the songs from Aquatic, plus fan favorites from Your Everything and Sleight of Hand.

Regarding the long gap in activity, White says, "EJ and I never really walked away from the band but we wanted to wait to perform live until the time was right. When this tour opportunity came along we knew the time was now. Anyone who's been a supporter of the band and liked what we've recorded will be more than pleased with us live."

The 2013 version of Highspire is comprised of White and Hagen, with guitarist Blake Monahan, bassist Kristin Fayne-Mulroy (Soren Well) and drummer John Brodeur (The Morning After Girls). Says White, "We have the strongest lineup this band's ever known by a long shot. It feels like we got a transfusion or a massive vitamin B shot. It's going to be Highspire—bigger and better."

HIGHSPIRE 2013 TOUR DATES

7/1/13 - Lancaster, PA - Candy Factory
7/2/13 - Pittston, PA - The Rattler
7/3/13 - Hamtramck, MI - Smalls Bar
w/ Lorelle Meets the Obsolete, Electric Corpse
7/4/13 - Madison, WI - Mickey's Tavern
w/ Lorelle Meets the Obsolete
7/6/13 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
Bathysphere: A Psychonautical Voyage w/ A Place To Bury Strangers, The Telescopes, The Vandelles, more
7/7/13 - Rock Island, IL - Daytrotter
7/7/13 - Chicago, IL - Subterranean
w/ Lightfoils, Airiel, StarTropics, DJ Peroxide
7/8/13 - Milwaukee, WI - Cactus Club
w/ Brief Candles
7/9/13 - Cleveland, OH - Pat's in the Flats
w/ Volta Sound, Floorian
7/10/13 - Baltimore, MD - Golden West Cafe
w/ Bad Liquor Pond & Ceremony (Va.)
7/11/13 - Philadelphia, PA - The Fire
w/ Dead Leaf Echo, The Hounds Below, Belgrade
7/12/13 - New York, NY - Cake Shop
w/ Dead Leaf Echo, Twin Guns, DJ Voidsong (Perfect Prescription)
7/13/13 - Somerville, MA - PA's Lounge
w/ Ceremony (Va.), Plumerai
7/14/13 - Brooklyn, NY - Rock Shop
w/ Autodrone, Heaven, Ceremony (Va.)

PRESS ASSETS:

STREAM Aquatic (full LP) at Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/highspire

WATCH "Dead By Dawn" music video at YouTube: http://youtu.be/ywfhZ2Ox9_Y

WATCH "Joke's On You" music video at YouTube: http://youtu.be/8Tro6F7i-A8

DOWNLOAD Your Everything (full LP) for review: http://bit.ly/11KyhBH

DOWNLOAD Sleight of Hand for the Down and Out (EP) for review: http://bit.ly/1alDA1l

READ interview at The Big Takeover: http://bit.ly/wEJewl

PHOTO http://bit.ly/18S5dRs

PRESS MENTIONS for HIGHSPIRE:

"The lushness of the sound is almost unbelievable. . . . An ambitious affair with nearly unlimited twists and turns."
-Alternapop!

"Spirals into the stratosphere and remains there."
-Delusions of Adequacy

"Lazy, THC-soaked rhythms . . . perfect for misty mornings and hazy sunsets. Highspire could become newgazer darlings faster than you can say Isn't Anything."
-eMusic

"Mixes the feedback and effects-laden aspects of dreampop with what boils down to thoroughly edible pop melodies and hooks. Underneath all the window dressing are songs that are easily remembered and enjoyed."
-Satan Stole My Teddybear

"Nods to the past, and looks dreamily into the eyes of the future. . . . Both albums are simply divine masterpieces and are must-haves for any fan of the shoegaze/dream pop genre. Be forewarned, it is life altering stuff."
-When the Sun Hits Blog

Highspire is a shoegaze/dreampop band originally from Philadelphia. Wanting a fresh start and name from their previous band Intro to India, Alex White and EJ Hagen founded Highspire in 1999 as the vehicle to continue their songwriting partnership. Their debut album Your Everything was released in 2003 (Clairecords/Alison Records), followed in 2010 by Aquatic. Sleight of Hand for the Down and Out, a limited-edition compilation of B-sides and outtakes, was released in 2011.