Injury Reserve have released their brand new album By the Time I Get to Phoenix.
The 11-track project lasts approximately 40 minutes, features a guest appearance by Zelooperz, and is the group’s first full-length release since the death of Stepa J. Groggs in 2020. By the time I Get to Phoenix was largely before the artist died, and surviving members Ritchie With a T and producer Parker Corey took the last year to complete the record. The two previously shared a lengthy statement regarding the album:
“When we toured Europe in 2019, we had a show in Stockholm that was booked in the back of an Italian restaurant instead of a typical venue. To make up for some lack of production, we turned the show into our own improvisational rendition of a DJ set and ended up playing a song none of us had heard before, the record of which became the basis for a new album. Over the next few months we got together and put together the 11 songs that this album would eventually become. Those early months of 2020 had about as much turmoil for us as we could have expected last year, and between the general social upheaval, loss of livelihood, and family tragedy, our record carried those weights. When the tracklist came together and we began to understand it, one of the last phone calls we had with Groggs was about his love for reusing Isaac Hayes By the Time I Get to Phoenix to title the album. Shortly afterwards we were hit by his loss and of course everything was put on hold, but eventually we regrouped and felt most comfortable completing this album we had made as it was still fully resonant (in some ways even what felt haunting, pre-echoes) and most of all, stayed true to his constant insistence on the recordings of just ‘doing some weird shit’.
All of this obviously said that this album is dedicated to Jordan Alexander Groggs, aka Stepa J. Groggs, better get it right with ap. Typing here feels small in the space of your real physical absence, but you, your voice, and your words continue to echo through these recordings and so many others and everything around us. Thank you for your time, we love and of course miss you. “
Injury Reserve will hit the streets this fall as well, launching in Europe in 2022. Her North American tour dates will see her in areas like Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Seattle before concluding in Phoenix on December 29th.
Stream Injury Reserves By the Time I Get to Phoenix on Spotify and Apple Music, and take a look at their tour dates below.
Tour dates in North America:
10/8 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
10/10 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian
10/11 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
10/12 – Boston, MA @ Crystal Ballroom
10/13 – Baltimore, MD @ Soundstage
16.10. – Atlanta, GA @ The Loft
3/11 – Los Angeles, CA @ 1720
11/4 – Oakland, CA @ the new parish
07.11. – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
11/08 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
12/29 – Phoenix, AZ @ Van Buren
Elsewhere in the music, watch Nas’ music video for Brunch on Sundays.
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