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"Africa Just Wants To Have Fun," like much of the new material, demonstrates a more playful, immediate side to the band, while clinging to the unpredictability and originality that defines their sound. The song is a razor-sharp satire of certain rock stars who purport to save the world with dubious, self-serving rhetoric. Backed by Mark Cartwright (bass, electronics) and Sam Scranton (percussion), vocalist Aaron With's lyric is a searing indictment of the misguided philanthropic attitude of participants in everything from Band Aid to the [Red] campaign, ending with the candid admission "I don't know what to do / But I know what not to do".

On the flip is 'Performance Evaluation Shuffle (Slow Version)', a re-recording of the opening track on Paperwork. This downbeat quasi-croon reflects a theme of disillusionment in the workplace that runs throughout the album.

The 7" will be strictly limited to just 500 hand-numbered copies for the world. This single is the opening salvo in what promises to be an exciting year for the band, who are set to tour extensively in Europe and North America in Autumn 2008.

1. Africa Just Wants To Have Fun
2. Performance Evaluation Shuffle (slow version)

On Beautiful Seizure:

"What volcano! have achieved, in simple terms, is to create the most forward-looking, genre- eschewing, sense-battering album I've honestly ever heard."
--Drowned In Sound 10/10

"volcano!'s innovation is so powerful, it feels confrontational. Beautiful Seizure conveys an aura of both impending miracle and plague, and, in its enormity, sounds like the soundtrack to the bible."
--Fader

"volcano!'s febrile explosions and switchbacks are a vocabulary of their own, and Leaf have made a promising pick."
--The Wire

"Out of [Beautiful Seizure] comes a stunning and consistently melodic middle ground that never teases or withholds anything, always sputtering towards catharsis without losing grip of the listener's hand... Arresting."
--Pitchfork

With dramatic stylistic shifts and typically ambitious arrangements, the music is lucid but anarchic, never allowing a moments rest. Despite the apparent chaos, melody is never sacrificed.

Comparisons have been drawn in the press to Radiohead, The Mars Volta, Jeff Buckley, Fugazi, Deerhoof, The Ex, Xiu Xiu, Animal Collective and even King Crimson, but none of these quite do justice to the bandis explosive energy and pioneering spirit. Volcano! has an equally mind-blowing live show and just returned from a European tour which included a BBC session for Radio 1.

There's formidable ambition in this sound: Sam Scranton drums in a frantic, disjointed style, less maintaining the beat than pushing the songs towards collapse; Mark Cartwright trades off bass and electronics, interjecting shards of brutal, pristine noise that distinguish volcano! from their peers; Aaron With's tumultuous guitar adds another layer of intensity, while his voice acts as a far-ranging net, collecting everything in a confident, sinewy delivery that recalls Black Francis' most ribald moments and Thom Yorke's most commanding-- sometimes violent, often vulnerable. Together, volcano! match the fervent dynamism of Deerhoof and Black Dice with the powerhouse innovation of PIL or The Ex, pushing traditional structures to their limits while maintaining a secure melodic footing throughout. The uninhibited emotional expression of Archie Shepp and Pharoah Sanders is another crucial influence.

Like a psychedelic national anthem, 'Easy Does It' rides a taut wire of sound before spitting forth a fiery chorus. The song's off-kilter approach only really comes into focus after a few spins, and it's the reward of repeated hearings that finally sets volcano! into Favorite Band sphere.

The Leaf Label has a long history of releasing adventurous, original and gifted artists from around the world, but for the first time in our ten-year history, we have found a rock band fit for inclusion.

Volcano! tours America in fall '05 and Europe in 2006: their stunning live show, much like their record, is a spectacle to behold.

30-second MP3 excerpts:

Kalamazoo
Easy
Fire Fire
$40,000 Plus Interest
Larchmontt's Arrival
La Lluvia
Red And White Bells
Apple Or A Gun
Frozen In Escape
Before The Suburbs
Hello Explosion
Pulling My Face In And Out Of Distortion, I Blink Too Much

Paperwork is leaner and more considered than before; nearly everything begins with simple pop structures which are subsequently torn apart. The ragged, feverish dissonance and bright spaciousness of Aaron With's guitar has much in common with Deerhoof or Dirty Projectors, but this time, more attention is focused on the beats and rhythms.

Lead-off single "Africa Just Wants To Have Fun" displays much of this febrile energy within a razor-sharp satire of certain rock stars who purport to save the world with dubious, self-serving rhetoric. On the self-deprecating "Slow Jam," With's vocals are more deliberate, more soulful than before, with echoes of classic Stevie Wonder surfacing. "Fairy Tale" describes his disillusionment with his experience of the non-profit sector, while "Sweet Tooth" tackles his conscience on the ambiguous issue of consumerism and promoting social and environmental responsibility.

Audiences will have a chance to absorb the full force of Volcano! when the exhilarating live band takes their show on the road in 2008.

PRAISE FOR BEAUTIFUL SEIZURE: "What Volcano! have achieved, in simple terms, is... the most forward-looking, genre-eschewing, sense-battering album I've honestly ever heard. 10/10."
--Drowned in Sound

"Full of unpredictable, volatile compositions that sweep varying styles and moods together like dry leaves before setting them ablaze.... [O]ut of [Beautiful Seizure] comes a stunning and consistently melodic middle ground that never teases or withholds anything, always sputtering toward catharsis without losing grip of the listener's hand.... Arresting. 7.4/10."
--Pitchfork

30-second MP3 excerpts:

Performance Evaluation Shuffle
Africa Just Wants To Have Fun
Tension Loop
Fairy Tale
Slow Jam
'78 Oil Crisis
Sweet Tooth
Astronomer's Ballad
--------
Palimpsests
Kitchen Dance

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