Tortoise Announce ‘Touch,’ First New Album in Nine Years, with “Layered Presence”
Tortoise, photo by Heather Cantrell
Tortoise have announced Touch, their first new album in nine years. Set for release via International Anthem and Nonesuch Records on Oct. 24, the revered Chicago post-rock ensemble’s first full-length offering since 2016’s The Catastrophist reunites bandmates Dan Bitney, John Herndon, Douglas McCombs, John McEntire and Jeff Parker from their independent careers to reveal how their shared perspective has evolved after nearly a decade apart. To preview the project, the quartet has shared the lead single “Layered Presence,” alongside a music video from director Mikel Patrick Avery.
Touch is the result of Tortoise’s concerted efforts to reconnect and rekindle their creative collectivity. The album’s production diverged meaningfully from the intimate, free associative process that thrived in their shared loft space in the ‘90s, with the bandmates now spread between Los Angeles, Portland, Ore. and their Chicago hometown. While all 10 of the album’s tracks were co-written by all of the artists, they were recorded piecemeal in each of the contributors’ respective home cities. These parts were brought together with production and mixing from McEntire and sealed with final mastering by storied engineer Dave Cooley.
The magnetic, many-sided sound of “Layered Presence” is proof positive that Tortoise’s unrestrained collaboration is alive and well. While the quintet has become a sort of supergroup through its members’ recent solo acclaim–see Parker’s jazz bona fides and McEntire’s work with the Sea and Cake for just a slice of their influence–their return holds true to their archetypal style while fearlessly embracing new sounds. The group’s latest preview recalls their early triumphs with loops of tumbling drums and a deep, ionized low-end, then builds to an angular peak with synthetic harpsichord and guitar bolts. It follows “Organesson,” a dense arrangement of percussion and inviting strums, as ever an implacable alloy of atmospheric jazz, krautrock, dub, dismantled techno and other loose ends.
Touch is available to pre-order and pre-save now. Tortoise will return to the stage with a series of special performances in October and November, followed by two European tours in early 2026. Find tickets and more information at trts.com.
Read on for the album’s full tracklist.
Touch – Tortoise:
Vexations
Layered Presence
Works and Days
Elka
Promenade à deux
Axial Seamount
A Title Comes
Rated OG
Oganesson
Night Gang
