Ultimate Painting, the decidedly jangly “indie” rock band from London, have somehow slipped by me, unnoticed, unheard, until now. Jack Cooper and James Hoare, the musicians behind Ultimate Painting who both sing and play six-strings, met while touring in different bands (Mazes, Veronica Falls). Clearly vibing on each others’ similarities, Ultimate Painting formed in the summer of 2014. Now, two years deep, the duo are releasing their third LP, Dusk, and I’ve been playing catch up on their jams all week. And so should you.
Drawing similarities to Television’s songwriting style and the Velvet Undergrounds’ classic, stripped down arrangements and vocals, Ultimate Painting are a band unafraid to be themselves, preferring the quietly powerful momentum of a song’s beauty over reverb and gimmicks. Check out the first single from their upcoming album, “Bills”, and don’t miss it when it drops September 30th on Chicago’s Trouble in Mind Records. –Maya Eslami
ULTIMATE PAINTING TOUR DATES:
Sat. July 23 – Seattle, WA @ Capitol Hill Block Party
Mon. July 25 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
Tue. July 26 – Big Sur, CA @ Woodsist Festival
Wed. July 27 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Resident
Thu. July 28 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar *
Fri. July 29 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar *
Sat. July 30 – Denver, CO @ Underground Music Showcase
Sun. July 31 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Diabolical Records *
Mon. Aug. 1 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux *
Tue. Aug. 2 – Spokane, WA @ The Bartlett *
Wed. Aug. 3 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret *
Fri. Aug. 5-Sun. Aug. 7 – Happy Valley, OR @ Pickathon Festival
Fri. Aug. 26 – Totnes, UK @ Sea Change Festival
Sat. Aug. 27 – Amsterdam, NL @ Amsterdam Woods Festival
Sun. Aug. 28 – Venio, NL @ Zomerfest
Fri. Sept. 23-Sat. Sept. 24 – Liverpool, UK @ Liverpool Festival Of Psychedelia
Fri. Sept. 30 – Manchester, UK @ The Deaf Institute
Sat. Oct. 1 – Manchester, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
Sun. Oct. 2 – Glasgow, UK @ Stereo
Tue. Oct. 4 – Birmingham, UK @ Hare V2
Wed. Oct. 5 – Bristol, UK @ Exchange
Thu. Oct. 6 – London, UK @ Islington Assembly Halls
Mon. Oct. 10 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Tue. Oct. 11 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique
Wed. Oct. 12 – Paris, FR @ Le Pop Up du Label
Thu. Oct. 13 – Cologne, DE @ King Georg
Fri. Oct. 14 – Hamburg, DE @ Aalhaus
Sat. Oct. 15 – Berlin, DE @ Berghain Kantine
* with Omni