Ivan & Alyosha Announce New EP ‘Labor On’ + Spring Tour
January 24, 2020 BY Nettwerk
Seattle’s Ivan & Alyosha returned last year with the explosive single “Everybody Breaks” and EP of the same name, celebrating a journey back to their roots, creativity and each other. Now, they follow up Everybody Breaks with a second EP, Labor On, out May 8th, and today they release the title track—a heartfelt hymn that exercises a patient, slow-burn that embodies the band’s journey in full. They have also announced a run of tour dates starting on EP release day, May 8th, in Bellingham, WA. All dates are listed below.
The band says of the track, “The song draws from an age old parallel, that of one’s own spiritual journey and laboring in a field. It raises the question, ‘Will we find rest in this life?’ At our lowest, we many times doubt who we are, what we are doing and where we are headed. But at our best, with hope and purpose beyond ourselves, we labor on, together, knowing that good things are hard, and that true rest lies somewhere beyond this life.”
Ivan & Alyosha first sparked attention with their 2013 debut album All The Times We Had, followed by 2015’s It’s All Just Pretend. Paste called their music “luscious, enjoyable folk-pop” and NPR Music praised their “Beatles-esque pop harmonies and sweet melodies,” while Rolling Stone raved about their “smooth, soaring guitar pop” and American Songwriter said the band “achieve a polished west coast soul-folk sound that draws on the poppier sensibilities of McCartney songwriting.” The band toured extensively around those releases, supporting such acts as Brandi Carlile, The Head & The Heart, Delta Spirit, and more.
As their schedules maxed out, they found less time for creativity and realized a change was needed. So, the fivesome — brothers Tim and Pete Wilson, Ryan Carbary, Tim Kim, and Cole Mauro – decided to take a slight break from the day-to-day demands of Ivan & Alyosha to regroup creatively and also spend time with their young families. With that time and freedom came perspective and inspiration, and during a gathering at Mauro’s house last year, drinking beer around a fire pit and swapping these new song ideas, they came to realize two things: one, they felt a new urge to create together; and two, that they didn’t have to go about it all in the same old ways.
Upcoming Tour Dates:
Sat Jan 25 Leavenworth, WA@ Timbrrr! Winter Music Festival
Fri, May 8 Bellingham, WA @ The Shakedown
Sat, May 9 Vancouver, BC @ Fox Cabaret
Mon, May 11 Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
Wed, May 13 San Francisco, CA @ Café du Nord
Thur, May 14 Los Angeles, CA @ The Bootleg
Tue, May 26 Denver, CO @ Globe Hall
Thur, May 28 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
Fri, May 29 Chicago, IL @ Schubas
Sat, May 30 Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
Tue, June 2 Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Café
Wed, June 3 Toronto, ON @ Drake Hotel (Underground)
Fri, June 5 Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle
Tue, June 9 Boston, MA @ City Winery
Wed, June 10 Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade
Fri, Sept 18 Ottawa, ON @ CityFolk Festival
Stay tuned for more news and music from Ivan & Alyosha.
