Ted Leo opens for Death Cab, talks to Paste

The hardest working man in indie rock, Ted Leo, kicks off a slew of dates opening for Death Cab for Cutie tonight (see dates below) in Upper Darby, Pa. Recently, the head Pharmacist himself took a few moments out of his busy schedule to speak with Paste while he was in Washington D.C. putting the finishing touches on his new, as-yet-untitled album, which is tentatively slated for a March release.

“We’re not really reinventing the wheel or anything,” Leo says of the upcoming release. “For me, the record is varied enough that it’s actually kind of exciting to hear. Some of the songs, I’m like, ‘What kind of music is that?’ But by and large, it’s not like we’re making a disco record or a Radiohead record or something. I think with Hearts of Oak and Shake the Sheets, it was very much, ‘This is the record we want to make at this time.’ Very specific. But with Tyranny of Distance and this one, I think it’s more like a mix tape that I would make for myself.”

The new album will consist of 14 songs spread across 13 tracks (listing below), Leo explaining via follow-up email that “the song with the slash, ‘Annunciation Day/Born on X-mas Day,’ is technically two separate songs that are ‘mashed up,’ as the kids are saying these days, so it's semantic at that point.” Much like the mix tape mentality of the new record, Leo says that there wasn’t an overarching inspiration for this particular batch of tunes.

“One of the reasons I was having trouble writing was because I felt like I didn’t have much else to add to the same dialogue that’s continued over my last two albums,” he says. “I remember when someone reviewed my last album, they argued that I wasn’t saying the right political things. But that’s because I had already said them. It’s like, I have nothing else to say about the state of the world right now. Eventually, though, I managed to scrape the surface a little deeper and find some things that are worth saying that I haven’t said already.”

Leo and Co. worked with Brendan Canty from Fugazi (“It’s amazing,” Leo says. “You can really bounce any stupid idea out there and he’ll actually consider it.”) on the upcoming album, much as they did on Tyranny, and some of the songs will pop up during the upcoming shows with Death Cab for Cutie.

“I wouldn’t say that I’m nervous [about the tour],” Leo says. “We’ve gotten to the point in a lot of cities where we’re playing pretty nice sized clubs. I mean, we don’t play Madison Square Garden, which we will do with Death Cab, so that’s crazy. But we’ve also played a lot of outdoor festivals, so I think we’ll do all right. It’s definitely going to be nice for us to play early. That’s how you know you’re getting old - when you go, ‘We’re playing at 8pm, that’s awesome!’”

New album track listing:
“The Sons of Cain”
"Some Beginner's Mind”
“Who do You Love?”
“Army Bound”
“Bomb repeat Bomb”
“The Toro and the Toreador”
“Colleen”
“The Unwanted Things”
“The Lost Brigade”
“Annunciation Day/Born on X-mas Day”
“The World Stops Turning”
“C.I.A.”
“La Costa Brava”

Tour dates with Death Cab for Cutie:

October

26 - Upper Darby, PA, Tower Theater
27 - Rochester, NY, Auditorium Theater
28 - Ottaway, ON, Civic Center
30 - Toronto, ON, Massey Hall

November

1 - Montreal, PQ, Metropolis
2 - Boston, MA, The Opera House
4 - Providence, RI, Providence Performing Arts
6 - Washington, DC, DAR Constitution Hall
8 - New York, NY, Theater at Madison Square
10 - Norfolk, VA, Norva
11 - Belle Vernon, PA, Isce Garden Arena
13 - Columbus, OH, Promo West Pavillion
14 - Indianapolis, IN, Murat Theatre
15 - Louisville, KY, Louisville Palace Theatre
16 - Birmingham, AL, BJCC Concert Hall
17 - Atlanta, GA, Fox Theatre
18 - Clemson, SC, Littlejohn Coliseum
19 - Orlando, FL, University of Central Florida
20 - Coral Gables, FL, University of Miami

December

9 - Seattle, WA, Key Arena

More dates without Death Cab:

November

22 - Jacksonville, FL, Jack Rabbits
23 - Mt. Pleasant, SC, Village Tavern
24 - Asheville, NC, The Grey Eagle
25 - Charlottesville, VA, Starr Hill
26 - Lancaster, PA, Chameleon Club
29 - Worchester, MA, The Grind at Clark University

December

10 - Seattle, WA, Neumos (KEXP Yule Tide)