Earlier this year, Geordie Greep, frontman of the proggy UK band Black Midi, played his first show with his new band Geordie Greep And The Swing Boys. Next month, Greep will play his first US solo shows. On Instagram last week, Greep posted this: “Black midi was an interesting band that’s indefinitely over.” The other members of Black Midi were apparently taken by surprise, but now we have a better idea what’s going on: Greep’s first solo album is coming out soon.

Geordie Greep recorded his solo LP The New Sound in London and São Paulo, and he says that it represents “the first time I have had no one to answer to.” Here’s some other stuff that Greep says about the record:

With every impulse I had, I was able to completely follow it through to its conclusion. Being in a band (black midi), we often have this “we can do everything” feeling, but you are also kind of limited in that approach, and sometimes it’s good to do something else, to let go of things…

Some of the tracks we had recorded already, elsewhere, but it just wasn’t right, so we re-recorded them with new people. Half of the tracks were done in Brazil, with local musicians pulled together at the last minute. They’d never heard anything I’d done before; they were just interested in the demos I’d made. The tracking was all done in one, maybe two days. Then we did the overdubs later, in London…

I was worried about the length in terms of not overblowing it. But I’m also really bloody bored of listening to music and, for better or worse, knowing in advance what it means or what it’s trying to do. All my favorite music is about the listener coming to terms with what is going on. My favorite singers, like Peter Hammill or Nat King Cole, are literally one of a kind. I love that. Especially with lyrics, where you’re not sure what they’re going on about, but you know it’s not just abstract thoughts.

The lead single from The New Sound is “Holy, Holy,” a wild six-minute piece of plastic, skittering funk-rock. It’s got Greep singing about picking a woman up in a bar, telling her that people around the world know that he’s holy. The song has Greep on lead and backing vocals, synth, electric and acoustic guitar, and fretless bass. In the Ethan & Tom-directed video, a be-suited Greep dances around while bowling. The New Sound is coming out this fall, and Greep has plans to tour heavily on both sides of the Atlantic. Below, check out the “Holy, Holy” video, the LP’s tracklist, and those tour dates.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Blues”
02 “Terra”
03 “Holy, Holy”
04 “The New Sound”
05 “Walk Up”
06 “Through A War”
07 “Bongo Season”
08 “Motorbike”
09 “As If Waltz”
10 “The Magician”
11 “If You Are But A Dream”

TOUR DATES:
8/21 – London, UK @ Map Studios
8/23 – London, UK @ Map Studios
8/30 – Brighton, UK @ Brighton Psych Fest, Concorde 2
8/31 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Psych Fest, Gorilla
9/10 – Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool
9/11 – New York, NY @ Nublu
9/12 – Brooklyn, NY @ TV Eye
9/13 – Brooklyn, NY @ Sultan Room
9/19 – Hamburg, Germany @ Reeperbahn Festival, Knust
10/10 – Cardiff, UK @ Llais Festival, WMC *
10/19 – Budapest, Hungary @ Isolation Festival
10/22 – Bristol, UK @ Fleece
10/23 – Falmouth, UK @ The Cornish Bank
10/25 – Cambridge, UK @ Storey’s Field Centre
10/26 – Liverpool, UK @ Arts Club
10/27 – Glasgow, UK @ Classic Grand
10/28 – Newcastle, UK @ The Cluny
10/29 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
10/30 – Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms
11/01 – Brussels, Belgium @ Les Nuits Botanique Weekender, Orangerie
11/09 – London, UK @ Pitchfork Festival, EartH
12/03 – Paris, France @ Point Ephemere
12/05 – Berlin, Germany @ Lido
12/06 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Bitterzoet
12/07 – Nijmegen, Netherlands @ Doornroosje
12/09 – Milan, Italy @ Magnolia
12/10 – Düdingen, Switzerland @ Bad Bonn
1/17 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
1/18 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
1/19 – Raleigh, NC @ Kings
1/21 – Asheville, NC @ Eulogy
1/22 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
1/24 – Nashville, TN @ The Blue Room
1/25 – St Louis, MO @ Off Broadway
1/27 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry
1/28 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
1/31 – Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle
2/01 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell’s Eccentric Cafe
2/03 – Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground
2/05 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz
2/06 – Brattleboro, VT @ The Stone Church
2/07 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall

* with Squid

The New Sound is out 10/4 on Rough Trade.