Pitchfork

Photo by Joseph P. Traina

Sub Pop offshoot Hardly Art has opened its doors to the newest members of its family: the Pica Beats. They're a Seattle group headed by Ryan Barrett, who self-released his debut album All Mysteries Solve Themselves last year.

On Beating Back the Claws of the Cold, the Pica Beats' forthcoming first album for Hardly Art, the band incorporates less traditional instruments like oboe and sitar into their five-person attack.

Beating Back the Claws of the Cold doesn't have a release date yet, but the Pica Beats do have a trio of hometown tour dates scheduled for March and April.

Pica Pica:

03-01 Seattle, WA - Blue Moon
03-29 Seattle, WA - Hollow Earth Magma Festival
04-01 Seattle, WA - Chop Suey *

* with Ruby Suns, Le Loup