Photo by Natalie Piserchio
Sheer Mag have labored to carve out a discernibly singular position within the canon of contemporary rock – their sound is unmistakably and immediately recognizable as theirs alone. On Playing Favorites, Sheer Mag’s third full-length and first with Third Man Records, the band capitalize on a decade’s worth of devotion to their own collective spirit—a spirit refined in both the sweaty trenches of punk warehouses and the glamour of concert halls—emerging with a dense work of gripping emotions, massive hooks and masterfully constructed power-pop anthems all lead by frontwoman Tina Halladay’s earth shaking vocals. This is the record the Philadelphian rock and roll four-piece has always been destined to make.
Sheer Mag break significant musical ground on Playing Favorites, elevating their signature approach to rock and roll to lushly cinematic new heights. While at times marked by an intensified sense of melancholy, this newest offering takes stock of the confusing flow of daily life without moralizing, refusing to fall into antagonistic cynicism. Sheer Mag leans into the chaotic thrall of city living, of a life subdivided by the jagged highs and lows of bars, parties, and nightlife culture, with sweetly empathetic remove.
The album burns with a sweetened gratitude for the lot one has been given in life: the luck of coming up punk; the luck of living an unalienated life; the luck of feeling love, and losing love. Sheer Mag began to work in earnest on their follow up to 2019’s A Distant Call in the summer of 2021, which they originally imagined would take the shape of a tautly constructed 4-song disco EP. Before long, the band realized this new material would perhaps be better served within the context of a fully fleshed out rock LP, bracketed by the support of a wider array of juxtaposing psychic moods and sonic textures.
Playing Favorites is undoubtedly a record by the same Sheer Mag that audiences of all stripes have spent the last decade falling in love with. In fact, for all of its sonic departures and evolutions, this record is perhaps the most “Sheer Mag” release yet. Not so much a return to form, but rather a realization of those greatest promises that the band has up until now only hinted at. With Playing Favorites, Sheer Mag cater to their tastes and their tastes alone: so long as they continue to do so, the future of rock and roll, that great human tradition, is in the best of hands.
Sheer Mag’s extensive headlining North American kicks off in D.C. on March 29. The run routes them coast to coast through early May. In August they split for a Summer run across the U.K. and Europe. See below for a full list of dates. For tickets and updates, go here.
Sheer Mag Live Dates:
Mar 29: Washington, DC – Songbyrd
Mar 30: Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle – Back Room
Mar 31: Asheville, NC – Eulogy
Apr 01: Nashville, TN – The Blue Room at Third Man Records
Apr 02: Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade – Altar
Apr 04: New Orleans, LA – Siberia
Apr 05: Houston, TX – The End
Apr 06: Austin, TX – Far Out Lounge
Apr 07: Dallas, TX – Double Wide
Apr 09: Mesa, AZ – The Nile
Apr 10: Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
Apr 11: San Diego, CA – The Casbah
Apr 12: Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room
Apr 13: Los Angeles, CA – Lodge Room
Apr 15: San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop
Apr 17: Portland, OR – Star Theater
Apr 18: Seattle, WA – The Vera Project
Apr 19: Boise, ID – The Shredder
Apr 20: Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court
Apr 22: Denver, CO – Hi Dive
Apr 24: Omaha, NE – Reverb Lounge
Apr 25: Minneapolis, MN – 7th St. Entry
Apr 26: Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
Apr 27: Chicago, IL – Sleeping Village
Apr 28: Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle
Apr 29: Kalamazoo, MI – Bell’s Eccentric Cafe
Apr 30: Windsor, ON – Craft Heads Brewing Company
May 01: Toronto, ON – Velvet Underground
May 03: Buffalo, NY – Mohawk Place
May 04: Troy, NY – No Fun
May 05: Somerville, MA – Crystal Ballroom
May 06: East Haven, CT – Beeracks
May 08: New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
May 10: Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church
May 31 – Jun 02: Northampton, MA – Field Day Music Festival
Jun 08: Savannah, GA – Dog Days Fest
Jul 26 – Jul 28: Nelsonville, OH – Nelsonville Music Festival
Aug 03: BE Genk – Absolutely Free Festival
Aug 04: NL Amsterdam – Paradiso
Aug 05: DE Hamburg – Hafenklang
Aug 06: DK Copenhagen – Stengade
Aug 07: DE Berlin – Cassiopeia
Aug 08: DE Leipzig – Institut für Zukunft
Aug 09: NL Eindhoven – Stroomhuis
Aug 11: UK London – Lafayette
Aug 12: UK Birmingham – Hare & Hounds
Aug 13: UK Glasgow – Room 2
Aug 14: UK Leeds – Belgrave Music Hall
Aug 15: UK Brecon Beacons – Green Man Fest
Aug 17: CH Geneva – Piz Palu Festival
Aug 18: CH Düdingen – Bad Bonn
Aug 20: ES San Sebastian – Dabadaba
Aug 21: ES Madrid – El Sol
Aug 22: ES Barcelona – Upload
Aug 23: ES Valencia – 16 Toneladas
Aug 24: ES Torremolinos – Canela Party
Aug 26: PT Lisbon – ZDB
