the_lawrence_arms_2018

The Lawrence Arms celebrate 19 years as a band with 29-song best-of album

[Photo by: Ben Pier]

In honor of their 19 years as a band, the Lawrence Arms have announced a career-spanning album We Are The Champions Of The World, a 29-song best-of album that chronicles the band’s steady evolution over the past two decades, set to be released March 30.

Read more: Arby’s sends puppy, sandwiches to Nihilist Arby’s creator/punk rocker Brendan Kelly

The tracklist was handpicked by the band—and is not a greatest hits album.

“I think you have to have hits to make a greatest hits,” Kelly says. “So we approached the song selection in an attempt to be indicative of our evolution, rather than focus on our 'hits,' of which, frankly, there are none.”

Instead, We Are The Champions Of The World showcases every part of the band’s career, from their 1999 debut album A Guided Tour Of Chicago through 2014’s Metropole.

“In the end, I'm super grateful for the collective experience and history of being in this band with two guys I have known forever and love dearly and are my fam,” McCaughan says. “I guess that's what this record kind of means and reaffirms for me.”  

Plus, in the liner notes, Kelly and McCaughan reflect on how each song came to be, “sharing anecdotes about what inspired them to put pen to paper.” 

The record will also feature five previously unreleased songs, taken from recording sessions for the band's 2006 album Oh! Calcutta!.

“I hadn't heard these songs in over ten years,” McCaughan says. “I'd basically forgotten they existed at all, so listening back to a few of them was initially like stepping into some strange portal—then as soon as I heard them again my memory filled out.”

The band will be touring in support of We Are The Champions Of The World, too. Check out the list of cities and dates below!

Dates:
04/04 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
04/05 – Garwood, NJ @ Crossroads
04/06 – Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club
04/07 – Baltimore, MD @ Soundstage
04/08 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
04/09 – New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre
04/10 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
04/11 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
04/12 – Chicago, IL @ Metro (w/ Banner Pilot)

04/27 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
04/28 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
04/30 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
05/01 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
05/03 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
05/04 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
05/05 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
05/06 – Denver, CO @ Oriental Theater

Tracklisting:

1. On With The Show 
2. Great Lakes/Great Escapes 
3. Alert The Audience! 
4. 100 Resolutions 
5. The Devil’s Takin' Names 
6. Beautiful Things 
7. Quincentuple Your Money 
8. The Slowest Drink At The Saddest Bar On The Snowiest Day In The Greatest City 
9. Are You There Margaret? It's Me, God. 
10. Right As Rain Part 2 
11. Seventeener (17th And 37th) 
12. Chapter 13: The Hero Appears 
13. The Ramblin' Boys Of Pleasure 
14. Light Breathing (Me And Martha Plimpton In A Fancy Elevator) 
15. Like A Record Player 
16. You Are Here 
17. Boatless Booze Cruise Part 1 
18. Brick Wall Views 
19. Sixteen Hours 
20. Turnstiles 
21. An Evening Of Extraordinary Circumstance 
22. The Northside, The L&L And Any Number Of Crappy Apartments 
23. Porno & Snuff Films 
24. Demons 
25. The Rabbit And The Rooster 
26. Catalog * 
27. Black Snow * 
28. Laugh Out Loud * 
29. Warped Summer Extravaganza (Turbo Excellent) * 

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