Handsome Tours is thrilled to announce that Portland, Oregon-based experimental artist Grouper will be heading to Australia this June. Grouper will perform at two special headline shows in succession on Wednesday 21st June at Sydney’s Paddington Uniting Church, as well as Melbourne’s NGV Friday nights, Dark Mofo and Queensland Gallery of Modern Art.

Grouper is a recording and performing project by Liz Harris. She lives and works in Portland, OR. Her 2014 album ‘Ruins’ was made in Aljezur, Portugal in 2011 on a residency set up by Galeria Zé dos Bois. She recorded everything there except the last song, which was recorded at her mother’s house in 2004. The album was recorded fairly simply, with a portable 4-track, Sony stereo mic and an upright piano. “When I wasn’t recording songs I was hiking several miles to the beach. The path wound through the ruins of several old estates and a small village,” says Harris. The album is a document. A nod to that daily walk, failed structures and living in the remains of love.

“Songwriting of this calibre needs no embellishment.” Drowned in Sound [9/10]
“Nobody sounds like Grouper.” Pitchfork [Best New Music]
“A masterclass in medicated bleakness.” NME
“Rather than be pulled into the darkness, Harris boldly searches for meaning in this gorgeously reproduced world.” Consequence of Sound
“For all the gossamer beauty of The Man Who Died In His Boat, its roots are strong and sure, anchored to corporeal exploration as well as straining at its bodily anchor.” Dazed