Tracklisting:
Side 1: 21 minutes
1. Square 2
2. Premises
3. For Laughing Out Loud
4. Stranger Danger
Side 2: 20 mins
5. Malware
6. Prelude
7. Recreational Outrage
8. CMF 9000
Side 3: 22mins
9. Checkmate
10. Convoy
11. Not Your Nemesis
12. Let it Ride
Side 4: 22 mins
13. Ratchet
14. Pioneer
15. Pitter Pattern
16. Upside Down
2 X 180g Vinyl featuring Shapeshifter 1: Construct on 1 LP and Shapeshifter II: Outbreak on 1 LP. Genre-bending instrumental quartet TAUK will release Shapeshifter II: Outbreak, an exhilarating look at artificial intelligence and its potential to upend our world. PopMatters debuted the futuristic soundscape "CMF 9000" saying, "Fans of earlier New York City bands such as Screaming Headless Torsos, Gutbucket, and John Zorn's Naked City will not be disappointed."
TAUK has also announced a fall tour running across the US through the end of the year. A festival run continues this weekend at Shadefest, including North Coast and Waterloo as well as a performance at legendary Red Rocks on Sept 8 w/ STS9 and Cut Chemist. A full list of dates can be found below. Equally inspired by classic sci-fi like Blade Runner and more recent films like Ex Machina, Shapeshifter II: Outbreak embeds that narrative into
TAUKs most sonically adventurous, emotionally expansive work to date. A continuation of their early-2018 EP, Shapeshifter I: Construct, the new album picks up its predecessor's narrative thread with Prelude: a fantastically unsettling intro track whose frenetic keyboard work and chilling vocal samples set the tone for what's to come. "The idea is that in the EP you're seeing the construction of this being, and in the album you're seeing it break out and become something that you can't ignore anymore," explains keyboardist Alric "A.C." Carter.
True to its thematic terrain, Shapeshifter II: Outbreak endlessly blurs the boundaries between organic and electronic with TAUK broadening their sonic palette to include a vast spectrum of synth sounds and programmed effects. In sculpting the album's intricate arrangements, TAUK called on such esteemed musicians as The Naughty Horns, Ghost-Note's Nate Werth (a percussionist who's also played with David Crosby, Q-Tip, and Snarky Puppy), and Juan Alderete (longtime bassist for Racer X and The Mars Volta).