Idiot Pilot - Blue Blood (March 12, 2019)

Crisp X · Feb 19, 2019

And the award for most surprising comeback of the year goes to...

Idiot Pilot, which are back with a new album, 12 years after Wolves, and almost a decade since their breakup.

Here's the announcement:

Bandcamp link to preorder:

1. Bombs Away
2. The Pushover
3. Mammoth
4. Only so Much
5. Sideways
6. Asylum
7. Murderous
8. Saboteur
9. Widespread Devastation
10. Silver Needle
11. Aerospace
12. The Big Sleep

I'm literally shaking! This band means so much to me, and along with Enter Shikari, was a gateway to electronic music subgenres at the time. Who knows what they will sound like in 2019?

kidwithhelmet · Feb 19, 2019

Bizarre. I remember buying their debut based off the fact Hoppus produced a few tracks. I've revisited a few times and it still holds up. Will check this out next month for sure!

Crisp X · Feb 19, 2019

Their debut was an impressive mix of Indie, electronica, art rock, post-hardcore, ambient, trip-hop, etc.

Wolves was sonically way more alt rock centric, and featured Mark Hoppus as its producer. This time, the electronic drumkit was replaced by none other than Travis Barker.

bradsonemanband · Feb 19, 2019

woah!

Henry · Feb 19, 2019

The Blood Brothers led me to this gem back in the day

bradsonemanband · Feb 19, 2019

A lot of memories with the album this song was on. Crazy they're back together!

Kuri44 · Feb 19, 2019

Yeah this announcement made me do a run through and Now I’m even more excited.

Got me thinking how many great bands Mark’s podcast introduced me to (Motion City Soundtrack, Socratic, Something For Rockets, Idiot Pilot, The Secret Machines, Metric).

Crisp X · Feb 26, 2019

latortuga · Feb 26, 2019

Whoaaaa throwback. Haven't listened to this band in a hot minute

Crisp X · Mar 4, 2019

Here's a radio rip of Murderous, which was played on BBC Radio One last night:

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So... this is one of the best songs I've heard this year so far. Surprisingly, the heaviest thing they've ever done and at the same time a perfect mix of both albums. I hope this release doesn't fly under the radar.

Steve_JustAGuy · Mar 4, 2019

Wait, how did I miss this? This is completely shocking news.

Crisp X · Mar 4, 2019

Steve_JustAGuy said:

Wait, how did I miss this? This is completely shocking news.

The announcement did come out of nowhere! And it's a very short rollout, so you'll quickly be onboard.

Crisp X · Mar 5, 2019

And here's the official link for Murderous. It's like post-hardcore meets math rock meets haunting electronica? Honestly, I'm floored.

dastly75 · Mar 5, 2019

Wow this is amazing!!!

Henry · Mar 5, 2019

Petit nain des Îles said:

And here's the official link for Murderous. It's like post-hardcore meets math rock meets haunting electronica? Honestly, I'm floored.

This sounds so much like And So I Watch You From Afar's earlier stuff. Fucking rips. Not sure if I'm sold on the vocals.

nl5011 · Mar 5, 2019

I loved SWSMH back in high school and it still holds up fairly well. I always described them as screamo Radiohead.

Preserved Moose · Mar 5, 2019

Man I remember hearing these guys on Mark Hoppus' podcast all those years ago but never really looked into them outside of a few songs. This is cool.

PauLo · Mar 6, 2019

Damn, now this is a blast from the past. I remember really digging their debut. Will have to revisit it and see how much I remember.

Crisp X · Mar 7, 2019

Idiot Pilot: Blowin’ doors off hinges | What's Up! Magazine

Idiot Pilot: Blowin’ doors off hinges

by Brent Cole

It’s been seven years since Idiot Pilot officially broke up and 12 years since their last album, but Bellingham’s Michael Harris and Daniel Anderson are back. The talented duo – who signed to a major label while in their teens, toured the world, recorded with Ross Robinson, and broke up by their mid-20s – have returned with an incredible new album, Blue Blood. Recorded at Daniel’s home in Los Angeles, the music shows a new spirit in the band, rekindling a friendship and musical partnership that had gone dormant.

The reconnection of Idiot Pilot began innocently enough with a message from Daniel to Michael a few years back. They started contacting each other after not speaking for four years following the band’s break-up. “Daniel reached out via email over the holidays a few years back, and from there an innocent enough question was posed, ‘How would you like to come down to Los Angeles and just work on some tunes? See how it goes?’” Michael said.

Michael went down to LA and the two began to work at Daniel’s studio space. Initially, the songs stemmed from Daniel who had songs fairly developed, but they didn’t work for his current project Glowbug. Michael added parts and the collaboration had begun. “I spruced them up a bit in the studio and sent them over to him,” Daniel shared, adding, “I said ‘We should do this again.’”

And they did. “Essentially it was just a matter of taking week-long trips every four to six months on average, over the last few years, to begin assembling a barrage of tunes,” Michael said. “Daniel and I, when together, have always worked incredibly fast and efficiently, with little time wasted.”

But what was actually happening between the two, musically, was still up in the air. During an early session, one of them said, “I guess this is a band, should we come up with a band name?” Daniel stated it took half a year before they realized it was an Idiot Pilot record.

As the two continued to work, they discovered a new freedom in writing that came with time and age. “Now that we are theoretically older and wiser, we felt more freedom to explore and implement different strategies in the creation process,” Michael said. “We built songs together from the ground up, we took random riffs recorded in minute long clips from my iPhone and explored where they could go, and of course we used tracks Daniel already had in the can. We even went as far as taking a singular section from a previous demo, and completely remaking the song by turning that one section into an entirely different theme for a track (coincidentally, my favorite from the album, entitled “Sideways”).”

He continued, “Daniel and I work together seamlessly, and we typically leave no stone unturned, no idea left unexplored, but always with the intention of arriving at a beautiful compromise that satisfies both parties. The chemistry has always been strong, and it’s so exciting to be back at it, showcasing that despite time passing, we still have something to contribute to the music world, and to each other.”

Once the album was finished – they paired down their 18 or so songs to 12 completed and all the artwork – it was time to announce the new music. The musical and social media climate was very different than 12 years ago and they weren’t sure what to expect. “I didn’t really know if anyone was gonna notice the Idiot Pilot record,” Daniel stated. “But, what I didn’t consider, was the fans that we do have really love Idiot Pilot and they’re excited enough to share things and tell their friends.”

Michael added, “I am immensely grateful that people have waited so patiently, and have expressed so much gratitude and excitement over the reunion. It’s very much so a validation that we had something special to begin with, and we will use that momentum and excitement to continue creating for the fans.”

Now in their 30s, Idiot Pilot doesn’t have any desire to tour (other than the occasional show or short run), but are excited to see what they create. “It’s never been about anything but making the best possible music we can, and sharing it with people in the hopes of making them feel something tangible, and relatable while still pushing stylistic boundaries,” Michael shared. “This third record represents a homecoming, and a return to form for us. Picking up right where we left off.”

BigMouth · Mar 7, 2019

Whoa! These guys are from my town (Bellingham, WA). I've tracked a bunch of stuff at the studio they did the first two records at! This is crazy news.

Edit: holy shit that song (murderous?) on BBC1 rips.

Sander · Mar 7, 2019

What?????? i just rediscovered these guys after like 10 years. the first 2 records rip and were very much ahead of their time.

Colin Your Enthusiasm · Mar 9, 2019

I need to remember to listen next week

BigMouth · Mar 12, 2019

It's a banger, confirmed.

dastly75 · Mar 12, 2019

Didn't expect to get this on a Tuesday!

Preserved Moose · Mar 12, 2019

Some of this rips so fucking hard it's ridiculous. Mammoth is absolutely killer. Saboteur too. The only song I'm not feeling on first listen is Asylum because I don't like that drum beat.

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Idiot Pilot - Blue Blood (March 12, 2019)

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