PREMIERE: Street Eaters Channel Ursula K. Le Guin, Savages on “The Envoy” LP

Dark times call for dark music.
PREMIERE: Street Eaters Channel Ursula K. Le Guin, Savages on “The Envoy” LP

Dark times call for dark music.

Words: Dean Brandt

photo by Tamas Bernath

May 10, 2017

photo by Tamas Bernath

Street Eaters are two people—Megan March and John No—but on The Envoy, the followup to 2014’s Blood::Muscles::Bones, they conjure entire worlds. March and No thread the underwater yawp of sea lions, the grind of collapsing glaciers, and whistling oscillations of planets through their already noisy soundscape. Feedback whips and howls, while a wildly overdriven bass leads the way deeper into the darkness.

If that sounds like a dystopian nightmare, then it probably should: The Envoy, which we’re premiering today in full, was inspired by sci-fi writer Ursula K. LeGuin, in particular the novels The Dispossessed and Left Hand of Darkness. The latter book follows the political workings of planet populated by two warring superpowers—one capitalist and one authoritarian—while a neighboring planet of anarchists looks on, while the latter concerns an alien sent to a land inhabited entirely by people who lack gender identities. So, you know: not exactly foreign worlds.

Not that you need to have a fresh knowledge of the history of Hugo Award winners to pick up on the righteous fury behind The Envoy. March and No coil and snap like their Bay Area forebears in the Dead Kennedys, and they wrap themselves in atmosphere like Savages. It’s the kind of angry drive you might expect in 2017. Give it a listen below, and check out a grip of the group’s upcoming tour dates.

Street Eaters tour dates

5/10 – New Brunswick, NJ @ In The West
5/11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Glitter Galaxy
5/12 – Washington, D.C. @ Tilden
5/13 – Raleigh, NC @ Ruby Deluxe
5/14 – Chattanooga, TN @ Sluggo’s North
5/15 – Athens, GA @ Go Bar
5/16 – Gainesville, FL @ The Atlantic
5/17 – Pensacola, FL @ Chizuko
5/18 – New Orleans, LA @ Saturn Bar
5/19 – Austin,  TX @ Hotel Vegas (matinee)
5/20 – Denton, TX @ Tom’s Daiquiri
5/21 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Warehouse B
5/22 – Albuquerque, NM @ Winning Coffee Company
5/23 – Flagstaff, AZ @ Flagstaff Brewing Co.
5/24 – Fullerton, CA @ Republic
5/25 – Oakland, CA @ Octopus Literary Salon (record release)
6/2 – FR Dijon @ Maloka Fest
6/3 – DE Mannheim @ Pffing Fest
6/4 – DE Regensburg @ Büro
6/5 – AUS Graz @ SUB
6/6 – HU Szeged @ Várkert
6/7 – HU Budapest @ Aurora
6/8 – AUS Vienna @ Venster 99
6/9 – DE Erlangen @ Jugendhaus
6/10 – FR Strasbourg @ ABC/Antinational Fest
6/11 – CH Biel @ Le Salopard
6/13 – DE Munich@ Kafe Kult
6/14 – DE Berlin @ Bei Rut
6/15 – DE Leipzig @ Zoro
6/16 – DE Hamburg @ Storte
6/17 – DE Cologne @ Contraszt! House
6/18 – NL Utrecht @ACU
6/19 – UK Brighton @ Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar
6/20 – UK Bristol@ The Old England
6/21 – UK Leeds@ Wharf Chambers
6/22 – UK Sheffield @ Audacious Art Experiment
6/23 – DE Neubrandenberg @ Punx Picnic Fest
6/24 – UK Glasgow @ Spite House
6/25 – UK London @ DIY Space For London
6/26 – FR Paris (Montreuil) @ La Comédia
6/27 – FR Bordeaux@ Void Club
6/28 – ES Madrid @ La Condenada
6/29 – ES Valencia @ La Residencia
6/30 – ES Barcelona @ Rock & Trini
7/1 – FR Marseille @ La Salle Gueule 

The Envoy is out May 12 via Nervous Intent. You can preorder your copy here.