At the end of June, the New York post-hardcore outfit Self Defense Family will release their sophomore LP, Heaven Is Earth, the follow-up to 2013’s Try Me, and in the interim period between albums, the band dropped a split 7″ alongside the Burbank-based Touché Amoré. Heaven Is Earth boasts an unconventional origin story: The songs were recorded in four classic independent studios with an impressive roster of producers, including Will Killingsworth at Dead Air Studios (Mind Eraser), Kurt Ballou at God City Studios (Converge), Mark Millar at Sone Lab (Dinosaur Jr), and Jon Low at Miner Street Recordings (Kurt Vile). The result is a collection of eight songs that, while thematically unified, each harbor a unique quality based on the varying artistic processes from which they were wrought. Lyrically, Heaven Is Earth is riddled with introspective moments that are minimally arranged for optimal impact. Inaugurated by the purposefully misspelled “In My Defens Self Me Defend,” portraits of disaffection radiate outward, as each song’s instrumentation builds in complexity. Stream the album in its entirety below.

Tour dates:
08/27 Brisbane, AA @ The Brightside
08/28 Brisbane, AA @ Caxton House
08/29 Sydney, AA @ Red Rattler
08/30 Newcastle, AA @ Hombre Records
09/01 Wollongong, AA @ Rad
09/02 Canberra, AA @ Lacklustre HQ
09/04 Adelaide, AA @ Crown and Anchor
09/05 Melbourne, AA @ Weekender Fest
09/07 Melbourne, AA @ Viva Hate

Heaven Is Earth is out 6/30 via Deathwish Inc.