Power pop quartet Love Axe is all tied up in geography: The band moved to Los Angeles after getting its start in the Bay Area, where frontman Chris Hatfield relocated following his time in a master’s program and a band in Michigan. And now Love Axe is releasing an album called South Dakota, a collection of hook-laden tracks that could inspire melodic envy in the likes of Sloan and Fountains Of Wayne. Despite the title, the album is not a musical tribute to The Mount Rushmore State—though South Dakota reaches out to the heartland through the heavy doses of twang on waltzing opening track “Baby To Bed” and epic centerpiece “All That’s Gold Will Turn To Black (Part 2).” New Granada Records will release South Dakota on March 24, but you can get an early preview through the album stream below. You can also hear the songs from the album on Love Axe’s upcoming tour, which helps the band fill in the blank spots on its U.S. map by taking them through the Midwest and the Mid-Atlantic and down the East Coast.
Love Axe tour 2015
March 27—The Burlington—Chicago, Illinois
March 28—The Berkley Front—Berkley, Michigan
March 29—Ortleib’s—Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
March 30—The Velvet Lounge—Washington, DC
April 1—The Mothlight—Asheville, North Carolina
April 2—King Dusko—Charleston, South Carolina
April 3—New World Brewery—Tampa, Florida