{"id":23239,"date":"2025-09-11T12:14:05","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T11:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/castthedice.org\/?p=23239"},"modified":"2025-09-11T12:14:05","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T11:14:05","slug":"tortoise-detail-new-album-touch-and-share-lead-single-layered-presence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/castthedice.org\/?p=23239","title":{"rendered":"Tortoise detail new album, Touch<\/em>, and share lead single ‘Layered Presence’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo: Heather Cantrell<\/p><\/div>\n

Back in March, Tortoise<\/a> hinted at a new album with the release of ‘Oganesson<\/a>‘, an exhilarating and dynamic track that set the stage for something big. Now, the wait is over and the band have finally unwrapped Touch<\/em>, their first album in nine years, arriving on October 24th through International Anthem<\/a> and Nonesuch Records<\/a>. The new album comes after a period of transformation for the quintet of Dan Bitney, John Herndon, Douglas McCombs, John McEntire, and Jeff Parker. With the band scattered across three cities, Touch<\/em> breaks from the band’s tradition of all being in one room, but despite the physical distance, they found a surprising connection. As Parker notes:<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s the first record we\u2019ve done where everything wasn\u2019t based in Chicago,\u201d says Parker. \u201cTwo of us are in Chicago. Two of us are here in Los Angeles and John [McEntire] is in Portland, OR. We recorded in several different places. But the strange thing is, in a way it\u2019s kind of the most cohesive session that we\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For a band that\u2019s always thrived on collaborative, in-person experimentation, the distance and remote work were a gamble. \u201cWe don\u2019t work remotely, unfortunately. We kind of all have to be in the room together”, McEntire explaines. “For me the trial-and-error stage is very important. I didn\u2019t want to lose that.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the new album, Tortoise expanded their sonic palette, blending everything from “aerodynamically re-engineered Krautrock, hand-cranked techno rave-ups, and pointillist spaghetti western fanfares”, as the press release describes. Touch<\/em> embraces both complexity and grand gestures, pushing the boundaries of what their sound can achieve. As Herndon notes, \u201cIt becomes writing and arranging and editing and orchestrating and sort of getting things into a sonic space that feels good, all at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahead of the album release, Tortoise have dropped the lead single ‘Layered Presence’, a track that leaves us itching for Touch<\/em> to drop. The single is paired with a video directed by Mikel Patrick Avery, and you can watch it below.<\/p>\n