The three men who make up Algiers live in New York and London, but the sound they generate comes straight from the post-industrial South. In “And When You Fall,” singer Franklin James Fisher caroms his vocals over his band’s heavy beat like any old soul singer, pushing his voice until it transcends the confines of the groove. But it’s not heaven he’s reaching for—not as you might imagine it, anyway—and the quasi-dissonant pounding that accompanies him ins’t exactly a joyful noise. Fisher is calling for justice, and the urgency in his voice and the throb of the band imply that getting there won’t be pretty.
Nor is the track’s accompanying video. Though it was shot on murky black-and-white VHS, it deftly sidesteps the warm fog of ironic nostalgia that clouds the form these days. Directors Lamb & Sea, who previously worked on the band’s “Irony. Utility. Pretext.” video, confuse live footage of the band with ticking static, gray-outs, and disorienting closeups whose indistinct motion matches the sounds being made without necessarily representing them.
Algiers are taking their dark revival on a North American jaunt this fall, beginning tonight in West Hollywood. The full run is below.
Algiers tour dates
September
28 — The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood CA
30 — The Independent, San Francisco CA
October
2 — Kilby Court, Salt Lake City UT
3 — Larimer Lounge, Denver CO
5 — Firebird, St. Louis MO
6 — The Empty Bottle, Chicago IL
7 — Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland OH
8 — Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto ON
9 — Bar Le Ritz PDB, Montreal QC
11 — Rough Trade, Brooklyn NY
