The Vacant Lots release their new single 'Consolation Prize'

Following premieres via Iggy Pop’s BBC 6 Music show and Under The Radar, Brooklyn, NYC duo The Vacant Lots are releasing their latest single and video for ‘Consolation Prize’. Arriving off the back of their recent singles ‘Chase’ and ‘Thank You’, the new track is the third to be lifted from Jared Artaud and Brian MacFadyen’s incoming ‘Closure’ LP, out September 30 on Fuzz Club. Stream the video, directed by Alexander Schipper below and pre-order the LP/CD/CA here.

 
Out now, the narcotic, down-tempo synth-punk of ‘Consolation Prize’ slashes with desolate 80s guitars alongside apathetic, icy vocals reminiscent of Iggy Pop’s The Idiot. Artaud says of the single: "In the beginning of any relationship you can really lose yourself in another person. There's something inherently infinite, but also terribly fleeting about love. This duality of will it last forever or will it last for now. You start off reaching for the stars and end up thinking life is your consolation prize. Then there is the music, which is like slow dancing on Benzos. Music for loners and lovers."

On the gear behind the Vacant Lots’ latest minimal-is-maximal cut, MacFadyen adds: “Consolation Prize opens with a swirl of modulated drones from an Arp Solus. This free-form soundscape is anchored with an arpeggiated bassline from the Arp 2600, minimal drum beat and rhythm guitar. The track builds towards the end with the final chorus featuring some additional parts from a Wurlitzer 200 and Juno 60." 

Later this month The Vacant Lots will kick off a North America tour with The Black Angels and in November/December they will be touring ‘Closure’ around the UK and Europe. Tickets are on sale here.

Created under isolation, ‘Closure’ is The Vacant Lots’ most fully realized work to date. It arrives following their highly-praised 2020 album ‘Interzone’, Cold Cave remix 7” and Artaud’s recent work co-curating the ‘Vega Vault’ of unreleased Suicide/Alan Vega material (culminating in Artaud co-producing and mixing 2021’s lost Vega album, ‘Mutator’). 

Set against a pulsating backdrop of modern apocalypse, the duo’s fourth album packs 8 minimal-is-maximal salvos into 23 minutes that coalesce into a stun-blast soundtrack for today’s shattered society. Artaud recalls: “During the pandemic the two of us were totally isolated in our home studios. I don't think the pandemic directly influenced the songs in an obvious way, but merely amplified existing feelings of alienation and isolation. We found ourselves writing in a more direct and vulnerable way than ever before.”