DC punk veteran Ian Svenonius has played in a whole lot of bands over the past three decades — Nation Of Ulysses, the Make-Up, Weird War, XYZ, and Chain And The Gang among them — but he’s never released an official solo album. Under the guise Escape-ism, Svenonius will rectify that this fall. Introduction To Escape-ism, out in November on Merge, finds Svenonius indulging his primitive, minimalist post-punk instincts in a way that reminds me of Jonathan Richman impersonating LCD Soundsystem. Lead single “Almost No One (Can Have My Love)” is a winsome example of this philosophy in action. Hear it below.

Here’s a commercial Svenonius made to promote the album:

Escape-ism tour dates:

08/27 Brooklyn, NY @ Our Wicked Lady w/ Twisty Cats and Jonathan Toubin DJ
09/09 Raleigh, NC @ Kings OCSC / Merge Records Day Show w/ Bat Fangs, et al
09/12 Northampton, MA @ TBA
09/13 Boston, MA @ Deep Thoughts w/ Bugs and Rats
09/23 Washington, DC @ Comet Ping Pong w/ Light Beams
10/04 Takoma Park, MD @ Rhizome w/ Selector Dub Narcotic & Gauche
11/09 Washington, DC @ DC9 w/ The Blow

Svenonius-led cult-favorites the Make-Up also have some reunion dates coming up:

09/08 Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Festival
09/10 New York, NY @ Seaport Music Festival
10/11 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
10/12 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
10/14 Joshua Tree, CA @ Desert Daze Festival

Introduction To Escape-ism is out 11/10 on Merge. Pre-order it here.