Protomartyr drop new single ‘Elimination Dances’

Protomartyr have released a new single, ‘Elimination Dances’, as well as an accompanying video. It’s the second single from the Detroit post-punkers’ new album, Formal Growth in the Desert, which is due 2nd June via Domino. The song was written once the band rejoined after the pandemic, uncertain of their future; the title takes its name from a game in a 1950s teen dance manual. “You get tapped out when you lose the dance,” and that felt an apt metaphor for just surviving. Life is a struggle, but “you might as well keep dancing until the tap comes,” Casey says. The band also released further details on their upcoming album. In a press statement, they revealed that “The desert is more of a metaphor or symbol of emotional deserts, or a place or time that seems to lack life.” The album comes after a series of losses - including the death of Casey’s mother, who had struggled with Alzheimers for a decade and a half and a string of break-ins - Casey decided to move out of his family home in northwest Detroit. It was Protomartyr, according to Casey, that helped him through: “The band still being viable was very important to me,” Casey adds, “and it definitely lifted my spirits.” Listen to ‘Elimination Dances’ below. Protomartyr will also embark on a tour throughout the UK and Europe - catch them at the following dates: AUGUST 7 - Amsterdam, NL @ ParadisoWed. 9 - Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2 10 - Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms 11 - Cardiff, UK @ Clwb lfor Bach 12 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club 14 - Eindhoven, NL @ Effenaar 15 - Hannover, DE @ Indiego Glocksee 17 - Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen 18 - Bodo, NO @ Parkenfestivalen 19 - Trondheim, NE @ Pstereo OCTOBER 19 - Galway, IE @ Roisin Dubh 20 - Limerick, IE @ Dolan’s Warehouse 21 - Dublin, IE @ The Button Factory 23 - Manchester, UK @ YES (The Pink Room) 24 - Bristol, UK @ The Trinity Centre 25 - Birmingham, UK @ Hare & Hounds 26 - London, UK @ Electric Ballroom 28 - Rouen, FR @ Le 106 29 - Antwerp, BE @ Trix Club 30 - Groningen, DE @ Vera 31 - Hamburg, DE @ Banhof Pauli NOVEMBER 1 - Leipzig, DE @ UT Connewitz 2 - Berlin, DE @ Hole44 4 - Athens, GR @ Gagarin 205 6 - Munich, DE @ Strom 7 - Zurich, CH @ Bogen F 9 - Paris, FR @ La Station 10 - Lyon, FR @ Marché Gare 11 - Annecy, FR @ Le Brise Glace 13 - Bologna, IT @ Locomotiv Club 14 - Torino, IT @ Spazio 211 15 - Marseille, FR @ Le Makeda 16 - Montpellier, FR @ Le Rockstore