LAST YEAR’S BANDCAMP-EXCLUSIVE HOLIDAY RELEASE AVAILABLE ON VINYL, CD, & DSPS FOR THE FIRST TIME

OUT DIGITALLY OCTOBER 29 AND PHYSICALLY NOVEMBER 12 VIA LOMA VISTA RECORDINGS

PRE-ORDER HERE AND LISTEN TO
HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS HERE

ON TOUR NOW IN SUPPORT OF THEIR CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED NEW ALBUM THE MILLION MASKS OF GOD INCLUDING CANADIAN DATES IN TORONTO AND MONTREAL IN 2022

TORONTO, ON – October 21, 2021 – Manchester Orchestra today announced their holiday compilation, Christmas Songs Vol. 1 – released last year exclusively on Bandcamp, where it shot to #1 on the Best Sellers list – will see a wide release digitally on October 29 and physically on November 12 (Loma Vista Recordings). The EP, which features six seasonal classics, will be available across all DSPs and on CD as well as vinyl for the first time; the band’s webstore will feature a special blue vinyl variant, while the retail version is holiday red with an etching on the B-side, housed in a ruby red foiled jacket. Listen to the band’s spare, atmospheric rendition of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas here. Christmas Songs Vol. 1 is now available for pre-order.

"The idea of recording a collection of Christmas songs has always been dancing around in the back of my head,” explained singer/guitarist Andy Hull of the EP’s origin. “Many of the songs we decided to record are hundreds of years old and our approach to recording them was to get out of the way and let the beauty of the composition do the talking. We chose songs that we grew up singing and that were ingrained in our musical inclinations from a very young age. Regardless of your beliefs or how you chose to celebrate or not celebrate this holiday season, I hope this collection can bring you some peace and calmness."

Manchester Orchestra are two weeks into their first North American tour in nearly two years and perform tonight for their biggest NYC show to date at a sold-out Hammerstein Ballroom. Their much-anticipated return to the stage has been earning rave live reviews, including from Houston Press about their sold-out second show of the tour: “Change can be good. In the case of Manchester Orchestra, change can mean rebirth. Judging from fans' passionate reception on Wednesday night, there are plenty of folks willing to go along with Hull and company wherever they decide to go next.” Next month, the band will host their 11^th annual hometown festival, The Stuffing, at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre on November 19, before resuming the tour in early 2022, including Canadian stops in Toronto and Montreal in March (see below for a full itinerary of dates; tickets are on sale now here). 

Earlier this month, Manchester Orchestra shared the deconstructed and kaleidoscopic rendering of Telepath by Dirty Projectors; listen here. The original is from the band’s acclaimed new album, The Million Masks of God (Loma Vista Recordings – stream/purchase the album here), released on April 30 to career-high praise from Stereogum, NPR Music, Uproxx, SPIN, and many more. The band has performed lead single, Bed Head, for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s #PlayAtHome series and CBS This Morning: Saturday Sessions, and also made guest appearances on WXPN World Cafe, WNYC New Sounds, Comedy Bang Bang’s 12th anniversary special, Kesha And The Creepies podcast, and Emily Kinney’s My Caffeine Withdrawal.

Produced by Manchester Orchestra’s lead songwriting duo of Hull and Robert McDowell, Catherine Marks (PJ Harvey, The Killers) and Ethan Gruska (Phoebe Bridgers), The Million Masks Of God presents an even grander scale of the epic and re-focused approach to record-making that the band has forged in recent years. Their sixth album finds the band of Hull, McDowell, drummer Tim Very, and bassist Andy Prince relentlessly pushing themselves to create a work that breaks beyond the scope and limits of every previous release in an effort to create their most towering achievement to date, all while sorting through the aftermath of a devastating loss.  

CHRISTMAS SONGS VOL. 1 TRACKLISTING:
1. Intro
2. Silent Night
3. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
4. White Christmas
5. O Holy Night
6. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
7. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
8. Outro

UPCOMING TOUR DATES:
10/21/21 - New York, NY - The Hammerstein Ballroom
11/16/21 - Louisville, KY - Mercury Ballroom 
11/17/21 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
11/18/21 - Birmingham, AL - Alabama Theater
11/19/21 - Atlanta GA - Manchester Orchestra’s The Stuffing at
Fox Theatre
02/16/22 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant 
02/17/22 - Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater
02/18/22 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theater
02/19/22 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
02/21/22 - Vancouver, BC - Vogue Theater 
02/22/22 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater 
02/23/22 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theater
02/25/22 - Berkeley, CA - The UC Theater
02/26/22- Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Palladium
02/27/22 - San Diego, CA - The Observatory North Park 
03/01/22 - Las Vegas, NV - Brooklyn Bowl
03/02/22 - Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren 
03/04/22 - Austin, TX - Stubb’s
03/05/22 - Oklahoma City, OK - The Criterion 
03/06/22 - Omaha, NE - The Admiral 
03/08/22 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue 
03/09/22 - Chicago, IL - The Riviera Theatre 
03/11/22 - Columbus, OH - Express Live! 
03/12/22 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore
03/13/22 - Buffalo, NY - Buffalo Riverworks 
03/15/22 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre
03/16/22 - Montréal, QC – MTELUS

Praise for The Million Masks of God:

“their grandest vision to date” - UPROXX (Best Albums of 2021 So Far)

“Manchester Orchestra’s most plainly beautiful album. I’d also argue it’s their best” - Stereogum

“A record that feels dynamic and vital – while still respecting the band’s legacy so far – The Million Masks of God is astonishing” - DIY Mag

"The songs here are often as big as ever" - The AV Club

"One of indie-rock’s most visceral and essential bands" - Guitar World

"[an album] that feels like the story of an unmade Ingmar Bergman film." - WNYC New Sounds

“... The Million Masks of God is a gorgeously tuneful and thought-provoking gem.” - Consequence

"...what makes The Million Masks of God so impressive is that it really doesn't sound like any other Manchester Orchestra album. Andy Hull's unmistakable voice and distinct songwriting style make this immediately recognizable...but it feels like an entirely new chapter of their career." - Brooklyn Vegan

“They’ve maintained the style laid out on A Black Mile but imbued it with more splendor.” - Paste

“Leave it to Manchester Orchestra to write an album that leaves you feeling both bereft and whole again in one swoop. The alt-rock band’s sixth LP...surges with sadness and hope in equal measure.” - Relix

“To listen to the new album, The Million Masks of God, from the Atlanta-based rock group, Manchester Orchestra, is to inhabit a cathedral-like building and let your ears take in each swell, each ring and each echo as the vibrations subsume and the medicine of music takes hold.” - American Songwriter

DOWNLOAD – Christmas Vol. 1 cover art | DOWNLOAD – hi-res press photo

www.manchesterorchestra.com
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