Kate Stables has readied a new This Is the Kit album called Careful of Your Keepers. The LP arrives on June 9th via Rough Trade, and as a preview, new single “Inside Outside” is out now.
Careful of Your Keepers is named after the seventh track on the record, which refers to, as Stables put it in a press release, “The fragility of things. Of situations. Of relationships. Of humans. What we do to look after each other and ourselves. The passing of time and what that does to us, and how we live our lives going forward.”
Stables teamed up with her usual band (bassist/vocalist Rozi Plain, guitarist Neil Smith, and drummer Jamie Whitby-Coles) for the LP, as well as Jesse D. Vernon, who arranged a horn quartet. Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys produced the project, and both Stables and Rhys himself spoke excitedly about the collaboration in a statement.
“I’ve always loved the idea of working with him somehow, and when this album started getting planned, I realized that maybe this was my chance to reach out and see if he was up for working together,” Stables said. “And he was! As if that wasn’t enough, he was also up for doing a bit of singing on the record, which totally blew my mind and made my year. His way with harmony and melody and the tone and quality of his voice is a totally killer combo.”
“They are so ridiculously talented — and every member is a great producer in their own right — so it was just a matter of trying to capture the magic they make when playing live together,” Rhys added. “Their playing is by default so thoughtful and complimentary in terms of respect to each other’s parts and to the integrity of the songs themselves that it creates a beautiful foundation of often cosmic interplay that’s always in aid of Kate’s voice and vision as a songwriter.”
Careful of Your Keepers will be available on standard vinyl, CD, and streaming services, while a dark green vinyl will be for sale at indie record stores and an eco-colored vinyl will be on sale online. Pre-orders for the record are ongoing.
New single “Inside Outside” features quick-picked bass and rattly percussion for a chill, Cat Power-esque moment, but as the song progresses, Vernon’s horn quartet and Whitby-Coles’ drums grow louder, increasing the track’s sense of chaos. Watch the single’s Hannah Owen-directed music video below.
This Is the Kit has a lengthy UK/European tour on the way. The trek begins in May in Portcurno and extends all the way into 2024. Check out her full list of tour dates below. Tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster.
Careful of Your Keepers follows This Is the Kit’s 2020 album Off Off On. Stables discussed that record on the Kyle Meredith With… podcast, which you can revisit here.
Careful of Your Keepers Artwork:
Careful of Your Keepers Tracklist:
01. Goodbye Bite
02. Inside Outside
03. Take You to Sleep
04. More Change
05. This Is When the Sky Gets Big
06. Scabby Head and Legs
07. Careful of Your Keepers
08. Doomed Or More Doomed
09. Stuck in a Room
10. Dibs
This Is the Kit 2023-2024 Tour Dates:
05/19 — Portcurno, UK @ Minack Theatre, Matinee Show
05/19 — Portcurno, UK @ Minack Theatre, Evening Show
06/16 — Kent, UK @ Black Deer Festival
07/16 — Hertfordshire, UK @ Folk By The Oak
07/27 — Warwick, UK @ Warwick Folk Festival
07/29 — North Yorkshire, UK @ Deer Shed Festival
09/20 — Antwerp, BE @ De Roma
09/21 — Amsterdam, NL @ THT/Tolhuistuin
09/22 — Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje
09/23 — Hamburg, DE @ Reeperbahn Festival
09/24 — Copenhagen, DK @ Hotel Cecil
09/26 — Berlin, DE @ Frannz Club
09/27 — Leipzig, DE @ Connewitz
09/29 — Munich, DE @ Milla
09/30 — Zürich, CH @ Bogen F
10/01 — Lyon, FR @ Epicerie Moderne
10/03 — Lille, FR @ Aeronef
10/05 — Reims, FR @ Cartonnerie
10/06 — Paris, FR @ Trabendo
11/08 — Worthing, UK @ Assembly Hall
11/09 — Cambridge, UK @ Junction
11/10 — Reading, UK @ St. Laurence Church
11/11 — Cardiff, UK @ Tram Shed
11/12 — Birmingham, UK @ Glee Club
11/14 — Bangor, UK @ Neuadd Ogwen
11/16 — Cork, IRE @ Cyprus Avenue
11/17 — Galway, IRE @ Roisin Dubh
11/18 — Dublin, IRE @ National Concert Hall
11/19 –Belfast, UK @ Mandela Hall
11/21 — Edinburgh, UK @ Summerhall
11/22 — Gateshead, UK @ Sage
11/23 — Leeds, UK @ Irish Centre
11/24 — Manchester, UK @ Academy 2
11/25 — London, UK @ Barbican
02/03 — Bristol UK @ Bristol Beacon