Introducing: Team B

Name: Team B
From: Brooklyn, New York
Story: Beirut/Arcade Fire ensemble-member takes the solo
Sound: Shuffle Mode

Kelly Pratt has quite the musical CV: a touring member of the Arcade Fire and Beirut, he's also played on albums by Final Fantasy, Herman Düne, A Camp, Bishop Allen, and Coldplay(!). When on tour with the Arcade Fire (as trumpeter/trombonist, largely), Pratt decided to fill in the on-the-road downtime by composing songs, which, soon enough, lead to a project of his own.

Naming his project Team B, Pratt roped in fellow members of the Arcade Fire (Richard Reed Parry) and Beirut (his wife Tracy Pratt, Jon Natchez, Perrin Cloutier), plus pal Pat Mahoney of LCD Soundsystem in finishing up the recordings. If you're figuring the results were some twangy, marching-band-esque exercise in epic indie-folk, you'd be figuring wrong, my friend.

The debut, self-titled Team B LP is pure stylistic hodge-podge; from doo-wop to cock-rock, eerie balladry to skittering electro-folk, Nico-esque smack-classicism to embarrassing dancefloor 'irony.' Across the set, Pratt plays piles upon piles of instruments, from keyboards and guitars to the array of woodwinds and brass you see in the handy promotional picture!

In the wake of his album's release, Pratt has assembled the Team B live-band (featuring folk from Beirut and the Jealous Girlfriends), and is taking his first few tentative steps out into the world of as-frontman touring.

Team B's Tour Ds
June 22: Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern
June 23: Chicago, IL - Beat Kitchen
June 24: Pittsburgh, PA - Garfield Artworks
June 25: Montreal, PQ - Le Salon Vert
June 26: Boston, MA - PA's Lounge
June 27: New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge
June 28: Washington, DC - DC Nine
June 29: Philadelphia, PA - Kung Fu Necktie