Superman never made any money, and neither will Crash Test Dummies unless they release a new album, seeing as how it's been six years since their last, Songs of the Unforgiven. But a May 11 release date has indeed been set for the band's new disc, Oooh LaLa!, and some intriguing details about the album have been announced, most interestingly, the way the album was written.
The 11-song record was recorded with vintage analogue music toys, according to a press release. At some point before writing for the album began, main Dummy Brad Roberts and producer/album co-writer Stewart Lerman (Antony & the Johnsons, the Roches) apparently became obsessed with the Optigan, a '70s Mattel toy/instrument, which shaped how the album was written and added a whole new layer to the band's sound.
The Optigan uses celluloid discs to project the sounds of other instruments with keys that trigger chords and notes. The discs had names and themes (one was "big band music," another was "Nashville"), so the Dummies found themselves writing outside of their box, thanks to this pre-sampling sampling, um, toy.
The band will be touring Canada in early fall to support Oooh LaLa!; it marks the first time they've toured the Great White North since 2004. This is the band's ninth album, which will be released via their label, Deep Friend Records, and distributed via Sony's RED Music.
Will the Optigan be appearing at the band's shows? Only time will tell...
The 11-song record was recorded with vintage analogue music toys, according to a press release. At some point before writing for the album began, main Dummy Brad Roberts and producer/album co-writer Stewart Lerman (Antony & the Johnsons, the Roches) apparently became obsessed with the Optigan, a '70s Mattel toy/instrument, which shaped how the album was written and added a whole new layer to the band's sound.
The Optigan uses celluloid discs to project the sounds of other instruments with keys that trigger chords and notes. The discs had names and themes (one was "big band music," another was "Nashville"), so the Dummies found themselves writing outside of their box, thanks to this pre-sampling sampling, um, toy.
The band will be touring Canada in early fall to support Oooh LaLa!; it marks the first time they've toured the Great White North since 2004. This is the band's ninth album, which will be released via their label, Deep Friend Records, and distributed via Sony's RED Music.
Will the Optigan be appearing at the band's shows? Only time will tell...