It’s official: Archers of Loaf, one of the bands that defined Chapel Hill indie rock in those heady early-‘90s days when the town was tipped as the next Seattle, are no longer content to be a nostalgia act.

Following the announcement of some new tour dates around Thanksgiving, the band revealed this week that it recorded some new songs over Christmas, to be released by Merge Records sometime this year.

Archers of Loaf began playing reunion shows in 2011, more than ten years after they split, but so far, they’ve been sporadic and focused on the classic music. Now, they’ve dubbed 2020 “The Return of the Loaf” in a teaser video, launching a new website and another teaser video for new tour dates.

Naturally, the Cat’s Cradle show is already sold out, though dates in nearby cities still have tickets:

Feb 21 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle

Feb 22 Atlanta, GA – Terminal West

Mar 07 Nashville, TN – Basement East

Mar 13 Woodstock, NY – The Colony

Mar 14 Boston, MA – Royale

Apr 10 Asheville, NC – The Grey Eagle

Apr 11 Birmingham, AL – Saturn

Apr 17 Philadelphia, PA – Theater of Living Arts

Apr 18 Baltimore, MD – Ottobar

We’re excited to find out what an Archers song written in 2019 might sound like—in the meantime, let’s all just watch the ridiculous “Web in Front” video for the thousandth time:

Contact arts and culture editor Brian Howe at [email protected]

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