Tortoise return with The Catastrophist, their first new album since 2009, on January 22, 2016. The debut single from the album, “Gesceap,” is available now, and the band will be touring North America and Europe in early 2016. A deluxe turquoise color vinyl pressing and shirt designed by Tortoise’s John Herndon are available to pre-order now exclusively through Thrill Jockey mail-order. The album will also be available on limited 180 gram and opaque orange color vinyl pressings through select independent retailers. All six of Tortoise’s classic albums will also be reissued on vinyl to coincide with the release of The Catastrophist.
The Catastrophist is an album where moody, synth-swept jams like the opening title track cozy up next to hypnotic, bass-and-beat missives like “Shake Hands With Danger,” a downright strange cover of David Essex’s 1973 radio smash, “Rock On,” sung by U.S. Maple/Dead Rider’s Todd Rittmann, and the bittersweet, honest-to-goodness soul ballad “Yonder Blue,” sung by Yo La Tengo’s Georgia Hubley.
The spark of inspiration for The Catastrophist came when the band was commissioned by the City of Chicago to create a suite of music rooted in its ties to the city’s jazz and improvised music communities. As ever, Tortoise has conjured sounds on The Catastrophist that aren’t being purveyed anywhere else in music today. There’s a deeply intuitive interplay between the group members (Dan Bitney, John Herndon, Douglas McCombs, John McEntire, and Jeff Parker) that comes only from decades of experimentation, revision and improvisation.
 
Jan. 23 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall (in the round performance) (tickets)
Jan. 24 – Milwaukee, WI – Mad Planet
Feb. 7 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Vega Jr.
Feb. 8 – Hamburg, Germany – Fabrik
Feb. 9 – Berlin, Germany – Berghain
Feb. 10 – Antwerp, Netherlands – Trix
Feb. 11 – Utrecht, Netherlands – Tivoli
Feb. 12 – St. Gallen, Switzerland – Palace
Feb. 13 – Geneva, Switzerland – Antigel Festival
Feb. 14 – Zurich, Switzerland – Stall 6
Feb. 16 – Wien, Austria – Arena
Feb. 17 – Budapest, Hungary – A 38
Feb. 18 – Zagreb, Croatia – Mochvara
Feb. 19 – Bologna, Italy – Locomotiv Club
Feb. 20 – Rome, Italy – Magnolia Club
Feb. 22 – Istanbul, Turkey – CRR Concert Hall (Jazz Festival)
Feb. 23 – London, UK – Village Underground
Mar. 9 – Minneapolis, MN – The Cedar Cultural Center (tickets)
Mar. 11 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Blind Pig (tickets)
Mar. 12 – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace (tickets)
Mar. 13 – Montreal, QC – Fairmount (tickets)
Mar. 14 – Northhampton, MA – Iron Horse (tickets)
Mar. 15 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair (tickets)
Mar. 16 – New York, NY – (Le) Poisson Rouge (tickets)
Mar. 17 – Brooklyn, NY – Littlefield (tickets)
Mar. 18 – Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts (tickets)
Mar. 19 – Washington, DC – Black Cat (tickets)
Mar. 20 – Charlottesville, VA – The Southern (tickets)
Mar. 22 – Louisville, KY – Headliners Music Hall (tickets)
Mar. 23 – Newport, KY – Southgate House Revival – Sanctuary (tickets)
Mar. 24 – Indianapolis, IN – Radio Radio (tickets)