We are thrilled to announce the new single & video Playin' It Cool by On Being An Angel officially releases worldwide today.
Available on limited-edition 7" Vinyl and via all your favorite digital services.
Be sure to check out their terrific video below, and if you live in or around Austin, catch their official release party show tonight at End Of An Ear.
Juliana Hatfield gets nostalgic on third single “Telephone Line” from the forthcoming album Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO.
“Some people might not know what a busy signal is and might not comprehend what it means not to be able to leave a message; what it means to feel essentially unable to communicate. But I do and it has nothing to do with technology. ‘Telephone Line’ is really just an expression of an isolation and a loneliness which music helps to make more bearable.” -Juliana
LISTEN HERE
Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO is available for pre-order on CD, cassette, LP (4 color options), and a limited edition 7-inch featuring 2 non-album tracks (“I’m Alive” and “When I Was A Boy”). Prior to the album release, Juliana will hit the road in October on a solo-electric tour (dates below).
TOUR DATES
OCT 4 / Pittsburgh, PA @ City Winery (w/ On Being An Angel)
OCT 5 / Cleveland, OH @ Music Box Supper Club (w/ On Being An Angel)
OCT 6 / Columbus, OH @ Rumba Café (w/ On Being An Angel)
OCT 7 / Evanston, IL @ S.P.A.C.E. (w/ On Being An Angel)
OCT 9 / St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club (w/ On Being An Angel)
OCT 10 / Milwaukee, WI @ Shank Hall (w/ On Being An Angel)
OCT 11 / Cincinnati, OH @ The Woodward Theater (w/ On Being An Angel)
OCT 13 / Northampton, MA @ The Parlor Room (w/ Freda Love)
OCT 14 / Providence, RI @ POP (w/ Freda Love)
OCT 15 / New York, NY @ City Winery (Wesley Stace’s Cabinet of Wonders)
Juliana recently signed several hundred LP's, CD's, and cassettes. Be sure to grab a copy before they are all sold-out. Pre-order HERE
Photo of Juliana by David Doobinin
We're stoked about this very special release from Il Sogno del Marinaio (Andrea Belfi, Mike Watt, Stefano Pilia). This is their first release since 2014 and the second official release from our Red Parakeet Records imprint.
"I'm so glad me and my fratelli have made this tribute to a great music cat whose life got taken, taken with yet so much to give, Miles Cooper Seaton. I hope people hearing our music for him will maybe help them to wanna explore the music he himself made to share with all of us." –Mike Watt
"These pieces are a tribute to our lost and beloved friend Miles Cooper Seaton - a clever, sweet, deeply generous and inspiring soul. They are directly inspired by moments of life memories we shared together with him. We tried to let his voice still speak to us and through us thanks to the gift of knowing him and the connection we had with him, and to the practice of music, something Miles deeply loved and brought into this world with courage, love and devotion." –Stefano Pilia
"Miles Cooper Seaton was a great musician, capable of writing deep and meaningful songs. The music he made with the band Akron/Family was very significant for many. He was a generous man, always there for friends needing help and support. I found in him one of the best friends I’ve ever had, someone I could open my heart to; however, the situation was about, he was never judging. His wild spirit was incredibly inspiring, as he had no fear of expressing his thoughts and emotions. I’m so happy I can pay this humble tribute to his life together with my Fratelli Mike Watt and Stefano Pilia, with whom I shared many adventures over the last years, and in doing so, doing what Miles was fearlessly suggesting to others: in a world with so much sorrow surrounding us all, the greatest tool we have is to connect and share with people we love, with passion, compassion, and understanding and for each other." –Andrea Belfi
Original artwork by Andrea Belfi. Design and layout by Jed Davis. Mastering and lacquers cut by Scott Hull at Masterdisk. Records pressed at Gotta Groove in Cleveland, OH. Glue Pocket Jacket, 4-Color Insert, 3-mil Poly Bag. Limited to 1,000 units worldwide and available in 2 exclusive variants. Spins at 45 RPM with a large hole.
Today, Juliana Hatfield drops the second single and first video from the forthcoming album Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO, with the release of “Can’t Get It Out Of My Head.”
Directed by David Doobinin, a frequent visual/artistic collaborator, he drew inspiration from French photographer Gilbert Garcin whose dreamlike black and white images play with light, shadow and cutouts.
“I created cutout versions of Juliana to create layered, architectural visuals. I wanted the video to capture that restless, ‘caught between two worlds’ experience we all feel sometimes, while also highlighting Juliana’s raw and poetic nature, and how she embodies both awkwardness and grace,” explains David.
“David is really good at capturing my discomfort in front of cameras, and in the world,” says Juliana. “Making it all into interesting, moving imagery works great in the context of this song about longing to escape reality into some otherworldly realm.”
In May, the latest addition to her covers series project was announced with her “more bubbly” version of the ELO classic “Don’t Bring Me Down.” Her previous covers projects include Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John (2018) and Juliana Hatfield Sings The Police (2019).
Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO is available for pre-order on CD, cassette, LP (4 color options), and a limited edition 7-inch featuring 2 non-album tracks (“I’m Alive” and “When I Was A Boy”).
Photo by David Doobinin
Juliana reveals latest addition to her covers series with release of the first single “Don’t Bring Me Down” available everywhere today. Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO will be out on November 17, 2023, and is available for pre-order now.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. – American Laundromat Records is thrilled to announce the third installment from Juliana Hatfield’s covers series with the release of “Don’t Bring Me Down,” the first single from Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO available today!
“ELO’s ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’ is such a solid construction that trying to rework it initially felt like taking a sledgehammer to concrete,” describes Juliana of the Herculean task of reworking a beloved classic to make it your own. “I didn’t worry about matching all the original’s exact sounds and parts, and we even dared a few cymbal crashes (the ELO version has one famously unchanging drum loop--no crashes—from start to finish). This is not a radical reinvention but it is a little more bubbly.”
The covers series aims “to go deep into covering artists that were important to me in my formative years” with each album and its celebrated artist thoughtfully chosen and curated. Preceded by Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John (2018) and Juliana Hatfield Sings The Police (2019), Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO will create a trifecta of pop/rock icons that have served as inspiration.
Juliana previously noted to Billboard, “Recording covers is like a working vacation. It’s fun, and it also informs my own stuff afterwards.”
“ELO songs were always coming on the radio when I was growing up. They were a reliable source of pleasure and fascination,” she explains. “With this album of covers I wanted to get my hands deep into some of the massive ‘70’s hits but I am also shining a light on some of the later work… My task was to try and break all the things down and reconstruct them subtly until they felt like mine.”
Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO is available for pre-order on CD, cassette, LP (4 color options), and a limited edition 7-inch featuring 2 non-album tracks (“I’m Alive” and “When I Was A Boy”). More information available at American Laundromat Records.
TOUR DATES
JUN 17 / NORTHAMPTON, MA @ One Roof Concert For The Homeless
JUL 28 & 29 / NEW YORK CITY @ City Winery (Nuggets 50th Anniversary)
More Tour Dates To Be Announced
Kansas City synth pop quartet Dragon Inn 3 return with Trade Secrets, a natural follow-up to 2018's charming Double Line. The ensuing five years have done little to diminish the band's nostalgia for glowing '80s pop, which they continue to mine with pleasing results. As on their debut, the aesthetic they present is a curious mixture of noirish sci-fi and romantic sweetness with punny undertones of corporate intrigue. Led by producer, multi-instrumentalist, and former Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin frontman Philip Dickey, the group benefits from the airy vocals of Grace Bentley and Sharon Hamm, who inject enough earnest intent into repetitive lyrical hooks like "I Can't Stop" and "It's Not Enough" to make them lay just right. Nods to '80s largesse are scattered throughout the set, especially on the yearning, pastel-hued "Out of Control (Bad Boy 2)" with its steamy sax solo, and there is even a cover of Yaz's arpeggiated 1982 synth pop classic "Only You," but by and large, Dickey gets the tone just right, avoiding outright genre parody by simply making catchy, enjoyable pop music. Without breaking out of the overall arc, Dragon Inn 3 move through different tones on the new wave-leaning "Teleport," the bright indie pop of "I'll Be Right Over," and the lush and dreamy "Trade Secrets Theme," giving the album some variety as it zips along. Well-crafted and easy on the ears, Trade Secrets is another strong entry in the band's catalog. - AllMusic [4 out of 5 stars]
Buy the album here, or from your favorite record shop or digital service.
We're stoked about this outstanding review in the new issue of Razorcake magazine. The 7" also made Daryl's Top 5 list.
Tim Kerr and Mike Watt pairing up and taking stabs at covering one another’s songs. It’s a celebration. An homage. And a reaffirming statement of cultural importance. Not just a look back at a bygone era, but a proclamation that we’re still here! Side A is Watt and Co. doing a chillaxed version of “We Got Soul,” and it definitely rules, but Up Around The Sun kind of steal the show by including some twenty-something other people to contribute a line of vocals to their cover of “History Lesson—Part II.” It’s a wide range of super badass folks and it totally caught me off guard with how impactful it was when I put it on. These fuckers got me tearing up while I read along, looking at everyone who contributed. Expertly facilitated reflection on the cultural milestones of the past as well as a rare moment of true optimism for the possibilities that lay ahead. Throw it on and just let the build up of pretention and jadedness flush down the toilet. This is what it’s supposed to be! –Daryl
We are stoked to share this outstanding review from Big Takeover Magazine.
mike watt + the secondmissingmen & up around the sun
split 7”
(Red Parakeet)
“Tribute to the other artist” split singles are fun. (There was a 1992 double Leatherface/Wat Tyler one I particularly loved.) And when you have ex-Minutemen and ex-Big Boys guys doing each other’s songs from four decades ago, it’s even better. Going with banjo-gussied inversion, UAtS’s Tim Kerr conjures an entire Greek Chorus of ’80s contemporaries to speak-intone Double Nickels on the Dime’s “History Lesson Pt. II,” including one that Watt namechecked on it back in 1984! (Good old X’s John Doe; plus Ian MacKaye, Mark Arm, Cait O’Riordan, T.S.O.L.’s Rom Emory, both bands’ old producer Spot, etc.!) It’s like one great clubhouse. Watt and mates similarly transform, converting The BBs’ 1982 Fun, Fun, Fun… EP stab at Pigbag-meets-Trouble Funk, “We Got Soul,” into a cool Captain Beefheart-Tom Waits-gone-Booker-T smoky tribal groove. More lessons, please! (redparakeet.bandcamp.com) - Jack Rabid
Order "We Got Soul" before they sell-out.
Our very first Red Parakeet Records release got a great review in the upcoming issue of The Big Takeover Magazine. We got a sneak peak for you below:
mike watt + the secondmissingmen & up around the sun
split 7”
(Red Parakeet)
“Tribute to the other artist” split singles are fun. (There was a 1992 double Leatherface/Wat Tyler one I particularly loved.) And when you have ex-Minutemen and ex-Big Boys guys doing each other’s songs from four decades ago, it’s even better. Going with banjo-gussied inversion, UAtS’s Tim Kerr conjures an entire Greek Chorus of ’80s contemporaries to speak-intone Double Nickels on the Dime’s “History Lesson Pt. II,” including one that Watt namechecked on it back in 1984! (Good old X’s John Doe; plus Ian MacKaye, Mark Arm, Cait O’Riordan, T.S.O.L.’s Rom Emory, both bands’ old producer Spot, etc.!) It’s like one great clubhouse. Watt and mates similarly transform, converting The BBs’ 1982 Fun, Fun, Fun… EP stab at Pigbag-meets-Trouble Funk, “We Got Soul,” into a cool Captain Beefheart-Tom Waits-gone-Booker-T smoky tribal groove. More lessons, please! (redparakeet.bandcamp.com)
Pre-order now from our Webshop or Bandcamp
We are stoked to reissue "Become What You Are" on vinyl to celebrate its 30th Anniversary. This exclusive reissue is limited to 2,500 units worldwide, and available in 4 vinyl variants. *Ships in early January*
Reissue artwork prepared by Aaron Tanner at Melodic Virtue from the original art. Our good friend Sean Glonek at SRG studios handled remastering, Levi Seitz cut metal, and the fine folks at Furnace pressed the vinyl. It looks and sounds amazing! We are very proud of this reissue and hope you enjoy it.
