Stoner rock vets Fu Manchu have announced their first new album in six years. The Return of Tomorrow, their fourteenth LP, is due out on June 14 via their own At The Dojo Records. It’s the follow-up to 2018’s Clone of the Universe and their first double album, and you can see the cover art and tracklist below.
“When I listen to music, it’s either all heavy stuff with no mellow stuff mixed in or just softer stuff with no heavy stuff,” vocalist and guitarist Scott Hill says. “I know a lot of bands like to mix it up and we have done that before, but I always tend to listen to all of one type of thing or the other. So, I figured we should do a double record with 7 heavy fuzzy songs on one record and the other record 6 mellow(er) songs fully realizing that maybe I’m the only person that likes to listen to stuff that way. We kept both the records to around 25-30 minutes each as to make it a full length release, but not have each record be too long. We don’t write a lot of mellow(er) stuff in Fu Manchu, but a lot of the riffs worked minus the fuzz. If you’re a vinyl person, both records are pressed at 45rpm to give it the best sound quality. If you’re a digital person, can make your own playlist and mix both the records together.”
We have an exclusive variant of The Return of Tomorrow, on blue & magenta A-side/B-side vinyl, limited to 300 copies. Pre-order yours here, along with more exclusive Fu Manchu records, and here’s a mock-up of the pressing:
The first single is “Hands of the Zodiac,” which you can hear below. About it, Hill says, “‘Hands Of The Zodiac’ is about an astrologer friend of mine who would always ask if we wanted to know anything about our future whenever we would hang out. He would look to the stars at night and ramble off all these weird predictions, none of which ever came true. He would say ‘zodiac hands’ and face the palm of his hand at you. I would always try to remember the things he said and almost every line in the song is something he said. For example, ‘Wheels / Motion / So Impressed,’ is based on how he talked about my writing songs / practicing / touring with the band ( ‘you got those wheels in motion)’ and Fu Manchu’s accomplishments (‘so impressed.’) I guess I should have given him a writing credit.”
Fu Manchu also announced tour dates in Europe and the UK in June and October. See all dates below.
FU MANCHU – THE RETURN OF TOMORROW TRACKLIST:
1. “Dehumanize”
2. “Loch Ness Wrecking Machine”
3. “Hands Of The Zodiac”
4. “Haze The Hides”
5. “Roads Of The Lowly”
6. (Time Is) Pulling You Under”
7. “Destroyin’ Light”
8. “Lifetime Waiting”
9. “Solar Baptized”
10. “What I Need”
11. “The Return Of Tomorrow”
12. “Liquify”
13. “High Tide”
FU MANCHU: 2024 TOUR DATES
May 18 – Vancouver, BC – Modified Ghost 2024
June 15 – Tampere, FI – Tavara-asema
June 17 – Stockholm, SE – Slaktkyrkan
June 18 – Oslo, NO – Vulkan Arena
June 19 – Malmo, SE – Plan B
June 21 – Dessel, BE – Graspop Metal Meeting
June 22 – Copenhagen, DK – Copenhell
June 24 – Osnabruck, DE – Lagerhalle
June 25 – Cologne, DE – Stollwerck
June 26 – Frankfurt, DE – Batschkapp
June 28 – Clisson, FR – Hellfest (Valley Stage)
Oct 12 – Munich, DE – Keep It Low Festival @ Backstage
Oct 13 – Berlin, DE – Heavy Psych Sounds Fest @ Huxleys
Oct 15 – Vienna, AT – Arena
Oct 16 – Aarau, CH – KIFF
Oct 18 – Luxembourg City, LU – Atelier
Oct 19 – Antwerp, BE – Desertfest Belgium
Oct 21 – Manchester, UK – O2 Ritz
Oct 22 – Bristol, UK – Marble Factory
Oct 23 – London, UK – Electric Ballroom
Oct 25 – Masstricht, NL – Musiekgeiterj
Oct 26 – Hamburg, DE – Lazy Bones Festival @ Markthalle
Oct 27 – Dresden, DE – Heavy Psych Sounds Fest @ Chemiefabrik
