Califone drops their brand-new single ‘burn the sheets.bleach the books’ today on October 17, 2024, via Jealous Butcher Records.

It’s a piece that has been lurking in the shadows of their set for years, springing up in unexpected forms at live shows—sometimes a treat for the eager, sometimes a challenge for the restless. The song paints a chaotic, surreal landscape, a Bosch-inspired vision of Los Angeles’ tent cities where humans and beasts alike howl for intervention.

But that’s just a warm-up. After a decade, Califone is hitting the road for a full-band European and UK tour, bringing their rich, weathered sound back across the Atlantic. The tour kicks off on October 27 in Rome, Italy, with stops in cities like Venice, Milan, Lyon, and London, finally wrapping up in Dublin on November 16. They’re out to support Villagers, their 2023 release on Jealous Butcher Records—a record that’s as much a homecoming as it is a continuation of their 25-year journey.

At the center of it all is Tim Rutili, the Chicago-born, LA-based creative force who’s guided Califone through decades of experimental folk-rock, always finding beauty amid the cracks. With his distinctive blend of poetry and abstraction, Rutili’s songs unfold like haunted collages—fragments of lives, images that shift and dissolve, held together by the tight-knit chemistry of his bandmates. This time around, he’s joined by longtime collaborators Ben Massarella, Michael Krassner, Rachel Blumberg, and Brian Deck, as well as guests like Nora O’Connor and Macie Stewart of Finom.

Here’s where you can catch Califone live on their 2024 tour:

So, whether you’re a longtime fan or a newcomer, get ready for the kind of show that only Califone can deliver—full of jagged, beautiful melodies that feel like they might just collapse under their own weight, but somehow hold together.

Headline photo: Travis Haight

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