Amen Dunes – the project of New York City-based Damon McMahon – will release his new album, Death Jokes, on May 10th via Sub Pop Records. In conjunction, he presents the first single, “Purple Land,” and announces concerts in select cities in the US, UK and Europe (full list is below). With Death Jokes, for the first time since the project’s incarnation in 2006, the spiritual reflections and meditations of Amen Dunes are turned away from himself and out sharply towards the world. Through samples and lyrics, the album plays like a scathing electronic essay on America’s culture of violence, dominance, and destructive individualism.
Death Jokes marks Amen Dunes’ first record since 2018’s Freedom, named a “best album of the decade” by Pitchfork who called it “his euphoric breakthrough… silvery and romantic, like a hallucination of the classic-rock songbook.” While McMahon has always worked with an outsider’s verve, he approached his seventh album in fall 2019 as an outsider to his own history. Instead of embarking on the eerie, modern blend of folk and blues for which he’s known for, McMahon decided to become a beginner again, immersing himself in the fundamentals of both piano and the electronic music he’d grown up with at raves and clubs but never imagined himself able to make.
As he worked, McMahon fought intense illness for most of 2020, first with Covid, then with lingering respiratory issues, and thirty lost pounds. Throughout this depleted state, two years and twenty-one failed collaborations passed. He was unable to find those who understood his unorthodox methods, this “loose, wild, self-propelled approach” that signaled a new direction for Amen Dunes. As he kept working, McMahon saw the birth of his first child, moved cross country from Los Angeles to Woodstock, NY, and dove repeatedly into the uncertain states of learning and losing. He knew he had to go it mostly alone this time, but not everything from that year was a wash. However small, the collaborations that worked proved to be profound. The jazz bassist Sam Wilkes appears on a trio of songs, producers Christoffer Berg (Fever Ray) and Kwake Bass (Tirzah, Dean Blunt) provided tracks on several others; sessions with Panoram and Money Mark also ended up in the final version of Death Jokes. On most songs, McMahon incorporated sounds, talking, and music pilfered from YouTube. The vast collage of samples include an interview with J Dilla, recordings from Type O Negative and Coil, a lyre performance of the oldest written song in human history, protest chants, a grunting powerlifter, and bits of stand-up from Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, and others, as “thought provocation and irritant.”
The songs on Death Jokes almost seem to foresee the pandemic, but they’re more about the lingering effects those years have had on all of us, spiritually and emotionally. Their meaning morphed as the pandemic went on: at first they were reflections on our attachment to form, and to ourselves, and then they shifted into solemn indictments of our culture’s blind spots as we misjudge and attack, our veiled self-centeredness and self-importance masquerading as morality.
“Purple Land” started as a campfire country song before shifting throughout its production to incorporate polyrhythms, 909s, reggae guitar, backwards bass, and a drum break. The song speaks to the fragility of life, first in childhood and then as we age. Throughout, an omniscient angel figure presides over the ballad — “You’ll be all grown / I’ll be long gone / You’ll be living on the sun / If you ain’t careful, you’re gonna forget it.” McMahon explains, “Purple Land is one of the album’s interstitial character portraits: first of a child, then the narrator, and then of an empowered figure as they all navigate and find liberation from the disconnection and disenchantment of an uncertain world. It begins first as a song to my daughter about life on earth, offering platitudes, warnings, and guidance through its various stages, until it becomes a reflection on the narrator’s own uncertainties as he moves through the world, ending finally with a character Rhea Anne who exemplifies liberation from it all in a moment of simple reckless freedom, as the beat drops in the final minute of the song.”
Seen as an essay, Death Jokes reaches a thesis in the last two tracks. These songs mourn “the soul atrophy and separation between us” but they mourn with hope that we might be able to move past the coldness of holding passing convictions above the more complicated truths inherent in this life. These are gospel songs. They’re spirituals that have clawed their way out of a culture dead-set on smothering the boldness that a spiritual life fosters.
Many portions of the above press release are pulled from the Death Jokes bio by Catherine Lacey.
On April 26th, 2024, Iron & Wine will release his seventh full-length album, Light Verse, worldwide from Sub Pop. The ten-track collection was produced by the band’s principal singer-songwriter Sam Beam and mixed and engineered by Dave Way at Waystation and Silent Zoo Studios in Los Angeles. Light Verse is the first full-length Iron & Wine release in over seven years and follows his two Grammy-nominated releases, 2017’s Beast Epic and 2018’s Weed Garden EP.
With Light Verse, Beam’s lyrics once again draw on a series of fictional and personal insights, filled with desperate characters and wide-eyed optimists, offering promise and a dose of heartache, tears and laughter, life and love. It’s also Iron & Wine’s most playful record, with its title reflecting how the songs were born with joy after the heaviness and anxiety of the pandemic. Where Beast Epic and Weed Garden gave air to the disquiet of middle-aged frailty and brokenness, Light Verse’s songs trade that for the focus acceptance can bring. Moment by moment, they delight in being pointed or silly (or both) and attempt beauty over prettiness.
Light Verse musically was shaped by a cast of deep players who brought their own stamp of authenticity to Beam’s vision. Joining were Tyler Chester (keyboards), Sebastian Steinberg (bass), David Garza (guitar), Griffin Goldsmith, Beth Goodfellow, Kyle Crane (all drums/percussion) and Paul Cartwright (strings). A 24-piece orchestra makes an appearance over four tracks and Fiona Apple lent her voice - that miracle that sounds like both a sacrifice and a weapon at the same time - to a duet called “All In Good Time.”
Fashioned as an album that should be taken as a whole, Light Verse sounds lovingly handmade and self-assured as a secret handshake. Track by track, its equal parts elegy, kaleidoscope, truth and dare.
Iron & Wine is also announcing a North American headlining tour supporting Light Verse, which spans Friday, June 14th in Milwaukee, WI at The Pabst Theatre, and currently runs through Saturday, August 24th in Nashville, TN at The Ryman.
A special fan presale begins Thursday, February 8th at 10 am (local), with tickets on sale to the general public on Friday, February 9th at 10 am (local). For regular updates on tickets please visit https://ironandwine.com/tours.
Fri. Jun. 14 - Milwaukee, WI - The Pabst Theater Sat. Jun. 15 - St Paul, MN - Palace Theatre Mon. Jun. 17 - Denver, CO - Mission Ballroom Tue. Jun. 18 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Union Thu. Jun. 20 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre Fri. Jun. 21 - Portland, OR - McMenamins Crystal Ballroom Sat. Jun. 22 - Portland, OR - McMenamins Crystal Ballroom Sun. Jun. 23 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom Tue. Jun. 25 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theater Thur. Jun. 27 - Monterey, CA - Golden State Theatre Fri. Jun. 28 - Los Angeles, CA - The Bellweather Sat. Jun. 29 - Los Angeles, CA - The Bellweather Sun. Jun. 30 - El Cajon, CA - The Magnolia Tue. Jul. 02 - Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren Wed. Jul. 03 - Taos, NM - Kit Carson Park * (support for Avett Brothers) Fri. Jul. 05 - Tulsa, OK - Cain’s Ballroom Sat. Jul. 06 - St Louis, MO - The Pageant Mon. Jul. 08 - Chicago, IL - The Salt Shed Wed. Jul. 31 - New Orleans, LA - Orpheum Theater Thu. Aug. 01 - Houston, TX- White Oak Music Hall Fri. Aug. 02 - Austin, TX - ACL Live at the Moody Theater Sat. Aug. 03 - Dallas, TX - Majestic Theatre Mon. Aug. 05 - Atlanta, GA - The Eastern Tue. Aug. 06 - Wilmington, NC - Wilson Center at CFCC Wed. Aug. 07 - Raleigh, NC - Meymandi Concert Hall Fri. Aug. 09 - Washington, DC - The Anthem Sat. Aug. 10 - Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore Philadelphia Sun. Aug. 11 - Boston, MA - Roadrunner Tue. Aug. 13 - New Haven, CT - College Street Music Hall Wed. Aug. 14 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Paramount Fri. Aug. 16 - Montreal, QC - MTELUS Sat. Aug. 17 - Toronto, ON - The Danforth Music Hall Sun. Aug. 18 - Detroit, MI - Masonic Cathedral Theatre Tue. Aug. 20 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre Thu. Aug. 22 - Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Room at Old National Centre Fri. Aug. 23 - Louisville, KY - Old Forester’s Paristown Hall Sat. Aug. 24 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
Iron & Wine’s Who Can See Forever soundtrack is also available from Sub Pop. The documentary concert film, which has seen sold-out screenings in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Denver, will continue its theatrical run in select cities throughout 2024 before platforming to streaming services later in the year (see full list of dates here).
Tracklisting: 1. You Never Know 2. Anyone’s Game 3. All in Good Time (Feat. Fiona Apple) 4. Cutting It Close 5. Taken by Surprise 6. Yellow Jacket 7. Sweet Talk 8. Tears that Don’t Matter 9. Bag of Cats 10. Angels Go Home
Today, February 6th, Pissed Jeans is sharing “Sixty-Two Thousand Dollars in Debt,” a crushing new track about the heady excitement of shrinking debt-to-credit ratios, and a highlight from their forthcoming album Half Divorced.
Last month, the band announced the release of the album with the official video for indelible lead single “Moving On” from director and frequent collaborator Joe Stakun (“The Bar Is Low,” “Bathroom Laughter,” “Romanticize Me”).
The FADER says “Moving On” is, “…a song that cuts deep to the core while brightening up the layers of distortion that have defined the sound of previous Pissed Jeans albums through perky guitar tones and anthemic vocals.” Stereogum named the song one of its “5 Best Songs of the Week,” and said, “Where Pissed Jeans’ music was once overwhelmingly mean and scuzzy, ‘Moving On’ sounds vast and anthemic, with keyboards and melodies and an actual singable hook. It might be the friendliest song that Pissed Jeans have ever recorded.”
Later this month, Pissed Jeans will also grace the cover of New Noise Magazine’s February/March issue (see January 31st news story).
Pissed Jeans’ Half Divorced is the follow-up to 2017’s Why Love Now, an album that took aim at the mundane discomforts of modern life. The twelve songs of Half Divorced skewer the tension between youthful optimism and the sobering realities of adulthood. Pissed Jeans’ – Matt Korvette (vocals), Bradley Fry (guitar), Randy Huth (bass), and Sean McGuinness (drums) – notorious acerbic sense of humor remains sharper than ever as they dismember some of the joys that contemporary adult life has to offer.
Half Divorced was produced and mixed by Pissed Jeans and Don Godwin and engineered by Mike Petillo at Tonal Park in Takoma Park, Maryland, and mastered by Arthur Rizk (co-producer and mixer for Why Love Now).
Pissed Jeans’ previously announced international tour dates in support of Half Divorced span Friday, February 29th through Thursday, April 4th. Additional live dates will be announced soon.
Thu. Feb. 29 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios Fri. Mar. 01 - Seattle, WA - Madame Lou’s Sat. Mar. 02 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo Fri. Mar. 15 - Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts Sat. Mar. 16 - Brooklyn, NY - St. Vitus Fri. Mar. 29 - Schijndel, NL - Paaspop Festival Sat. Mar. 30 - London, UK - EartH (aka Hackney Arts Centre) Sun. Mar. 31 - Manchester, UK - Manchester Punk Fest Tue. Apr. 02 - Glasgow, UK - Stereo Wed. Apr. 03 - Dublin, IE - Whelan’s Thu. Apr. 04 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club
Half Divorced is available to preorder now from Sub Pop. Preorders in North America from megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser Edition on Spotify-Colored vinyl (otherwise known as an opaque lime green…). In the UK and Europe, LP orders from independent retail stores will receive the Loser Edition on Coke Bottle Green vinyl. A UK-only Magenta vinyl edition will also be available to preorder through Mega Mart 2 (the new, UK-based sibling site to the world-famous Sub Pop Mega Mart) and Rough Trade Shops. All colored vinyl versions are available while stock lasts.
Pissed Jeans Half Divorced
Tracklisting: 1. Killing All the Wrong People 2. Anti-Sapio 3. Helicopter Parent 4. Cling to a Poisoned Dream 5. Sixty-Two Thousand Dollars in Debt 6. Everywhere Is Bad 7. Junktime 8. Alive With Hate 9. Seatbelt Alarm Silencer 10. (Stolen) Catalytic Converter 11. Monsters 12. Moving On
Today, Monday, February 5th, Shabazz Palaces is sharing “Myths Of The Occult,” a hypnotic new track featuring DC-rapper Japreme Magnetic and is from Exotic Birds of Prey, his new seven-song mini-album, out March 29th worldwide from Sub Pop.
Exotic Birds of Prey is the follow-up to Robed in Rareness, his well-received album from October 2023. Robed was released on all DSPs and will also be available on CD/LP formats on March 29th, 2024.
Shabazz Palaces is also announcing European and UK dates in support of Robed in Rareness and Exotic Birds of Prey, which begin April 27th in Paris, France at Le Petit Bain and currently end May 22nd in Braga, PT at Gnration. Preceding these dates, Shabazz Palaces will also appear at My Morning Jacket’s “One Big Holiday” at Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya, April 4th-7th, 2024.
Sat. Apr. 27 - Paris, FR - Le Petit Bain Tue. Apr. 30 - Lille, FR - Aeronef Wed. May 01 - Brussels, BE - AB Club Thu. May 02 - Ramsgate, UK - Music Hall in Fri. May 03 - Dublin, IE - Sugar Club Sat. May 04 - Leeds, UK - Headrow House Sun. May 05 - Manchester, UK - YES Pink Room Mon. May 06 - Brighton, UK - Patterns Tue. May 07 - London, UK - Village Underground Thu. May 09 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso Sat. May 11 - Copenhagen, DK - Huset Sun. May 12 - Hamburg, DE - Turmzimmer Mon. May 13 - Berlin, DE - Frannz Club Tue. May 14 - Prague, CZ - Meet Factory Thu. May 16 - Geneva, CH - L’Usine Sun. May 19 - San Sebastian, ES - Dabadaba Mon. May 20 - Madrid, ES - Cafe Berlin Tue. May 21 - Lisbon, PT - B. Leza Wed. May 22 - Braga, PT - Gnration
Shabazz Palaces is masterminded by vocalist and producer Ishmael Butler, whose unstinting drive to reimagine hip-hop – even as he enjoys his fifth decade on Earth – remains undimmed.
Exotic Birds of Prey furthers the modus operandi of its predecessor, Robed in Rareness – a respectful eye on the past, an embrace of an ever-evolving present, and its feet are firmly planted in the future. Where Robed… warped sounds like shoegaze and ambient music into the Shabazz Palaces multiverse, Exotic… cross-pollinates these elements with twisted electro and funk vibes.
This new endeavor features collaborations with the likes of Stas THEE Boss, Irene Barber, the aforementioned Japreme Magnetic, OC Notes, Cobra Coil, Purple Tape Nate, and Lavarr the Starr.
Exotic Birds of Prey was produced by Shabazz Palaces, mixed by Erik Blood, and engineered by Ishmael Butler and Blood at Studio4 West in Venice, California, with mastering by Warren Defever at Third Man Mastering.
Exotic Birds of Prey and Robed in Rareness are now available to preorder from Sub Pop. LP preorders for each release in North America from megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser Editions for Exotic Birds of Prey on Translucent White vinyl and Robed in Rareness on Translucent Ruby vinyl.
In the UK and Europe, LP orders from Mega Mart 2 (the new, UK-based sibling site to the world-famous Sub Pop Mega Mart) and independent retail stores will receive the Loser Editions for Exotic Birds of Prey on Cream White vinyl and Robed in Rareness on Red vinyl.
NPR Music called Robedin Rareness “Enchanting and subversive…” while Pitchfork offered this, “The futurism of Shabazz Palaces has always been interwoven with the past and present, their songs scintillating tapestries of old-school shit talk, proggy psychedelia, and melodic flossing. Robed in Rareness is draped in this multiplicity as Butler and a team of close collaborators swagger across eras of rap.”
Shabazz Palaces “Myths Of The Occult (Feat. Japreme Magnetic)” Single Artwork
Shabazz Palaces Exotic Birds Of Prey
Tracklisting 1. Exotic BOP (feat. Purple Tape Nate) 2. Angela (feat. Stas THEE Boss & Irene Barber) 3. Myths Of The Occult (feat. Japreme Magnetic) 4. Goat Me (feat. Cobra Coil) 5. Well Known Nobody (feat. OCnotes) 6. Synth Dirt 7. Take Me To Your Leader (feat. Lavarr the Starr)
February 5th through 8th, catch legendary skinsman Dan Peters of famed rock outfit Mudhoney on live tele-tube and streaming beams sitting in with the 8G Band on Late Night with Seth Meyers on NBC.
Peters joins a long line of world-class drummers who have sat behind band leader/comedian Fred Armisen’s drum kit on Meyers’ NBC late-night show since 2015. Each week, the 8G Band welcomes a gifted player to join the band to play the show’s themes, compose original music for guest walk-ons and commercial breaks, and keep the overall energy of the studio audience elevated throughout the taping.
2023 was a banger year for the one and only Mudhoney, who released their mind-melting album Plastic Eternity on Sub Pop. They toured extensively throughout Australia & North America, and April 7th was declared Mudhoney Day in King County, WA. The official proclamation highlighted their contributions to the Seattle music scene and beyond, crediting them for “35 years of brilliant musical mayhem.”
Additionally, the band found themselves wreathed in year-end accolades on Louder Than War, Uproxx, and Aquarium Drunkard lists, this last of which described Plastic Eternity as, “Wild, spiraling psychedelia, sharp-toothed political commentary, potty humor, dogs—this 11th album from Mudhoney has it all. Dive into the third-eye opening ‘Almost Everything,’ with its unhinged squall, chuckle grimly to word-playing ‘Cry Me an Atmospheric River,’ or enjoy a full-on belly laugh to sardonic but meaning-it ‘Little Dogs.’ These punk grunge founding fathers aren’t done yet.”
Mudhoney is hard at work plotting some exciting news for 2024, so stay close, follow along, and set your DVRs for February 5th to watch Dan tear it up on late-night TV.
Late Night With Seth Meyers airs weeknights on NBC at 12:35 AM EST/PST. Stream current and past episodes on Peacock.
