Jared Putnam of The March Divide was just out doing daddy duty when he was inspired to start making his decidedly 90s rock album “Lost Causes,” out today.

 Called “One of the most important Texas musicians you may have never heard of,” Putnam engages fans of  Sunny Day Real Estate, Sparklehorse, Jimmy Eat World.
 
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Jared Putnam of The March Divide as photographed by Short Eared Dog Photography.
 
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The March Divide | “Tension In The Air”
 

 

[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfiAVLf9_nU
  
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“Putnam’s urgent melodies, wrapped in just-slick-enough production, draw you in and keep you there. “‘Tension In The Air’ is one of The March Divide’s best examples of this trick to date.” – The Big Takeover
 
About the music video for the song, recently premiered by Dallas NPR-affiliate KXT, Putnam says, “The song is about needing a break from the mundane. We all have our own thing,  and life can become mundane for a lot of reasons. So, we made a video about what that break might look like if you’re a puppet with no morals or self-control!”
 
Hector Gallardo of Subharmonic City Productions, the director of the clip, and de facto puppeteer explains, “This puppet is inspired by the movie ‘Labrynth,’ and was made by a group of very talented artists here in El Paso, Texas.”
 
Gallardo continues, “Growing up with ‘Sesame Street’ and ‘Fraggle Rock,’ I always loved what they did with these puppets, but until I did this myself, I always took for granted what goes into making those shows. Some of these shots are honestly torturous. You have to really contort your body to not end up in the shot!”
 
“In the scene with the band, everyone at the bar was super happy to meet and party with the puppet. They kept asking what his name was and I realized we never gave him one. That night, he was forever known as Maurice.”
 
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Stream all of Lost Causes by The March Divide now at Nanobot Rock via its premiere coverage of the album, which calls Putnam, “One of the most important Texas musicians you may have never heard of,” and continues on to say, “Throughout the record an air of throwback feeling melodies pair with optimistic instrumental backing to take The March Divide’s cathartic honesty and make it feel more present than ever.

“There are lingering 90s fades subtly dropped amongst the intentional mindfulness Putnam has achieved record after record. Ten years and six albums deep, Lost Causes confidently extinguishes any notions of complacency from The March Divide.”
 
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The March Divide | In The Press
 

“Impressively hooky.” — American Songwriter
 
“Relentlessly catchy.” — Under The Radar
 
“Bittersweet beauty.” — Impose
 
“Putnam’s vocals pop.” — PopMatters
 
“Hits the mark again and again.” — The Big Takeover
 
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The March Divide
Lost Causes
(Slow Start Records)
June 10, 2022
 
Streaming Link:
STREAM FULL LP
 

Track Listing:
 
01. I Wanna Hate You (STREAM)
02. Tension in the Air (STREAM | VIDEO)
03. I’m Not Perfect (STREAM | VIDEO)
04. Dover Cir (VIDEO)
05. Corduroy
06. Giving Up
07. Virginia (STREAM)
08. Mont Del Dr (VIDEO)
09. King of The Lost Cause (STREAM)
10. This World is Gonna End
 
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The March Divide | Live
 
06/10/2022: Plano, TX @ Terra Mediterranean
06/11/2022: San Antonio, TX @ The Point Park
06/17/2022: Fort Stockton, TX @ Zero Stone Park
06/23/2022: San Antonio, TX @ Fralo’s
06/24/2022: Fort Stockton, TX @ The Old ‘76
06/25/2022: Clovis, NM @ Red Door Brewing
07/01/2022: Plano, TX @ Terra Mediterranean
07/07/2022: San Antonio, TX @ Fralo’s
07/08/2022: Boerne, TX @ Gather Boerne
07/09/2022: Cibolo, TX @ 1908 House of Wine & Ale
07/16/2022: Plano, TX @ Terra Mediterranean
07/21/2022: Wichita Falls @ The High Dive
07/22/2022: Tyler, TX @ ETX Brewing
08/20/2022: Plano, TX @ Terra Mediterranean
08/23/2022: Red River, NM @ Noisy Water Winery
08/24/2022: Albuquerque, NM @ Noisy Water Winery
08/25/2022: Santa Fe, NM @ The Cowgirl BBQ
08/26/2022: Ruidoso, NM @ The Cellar Uncorked
08/27/2022: Alamogordo, NM @ 575 Brewing
08/28/2022: Cloudcroft, NM @ Cloudcroft Brewing
08/31/2022: Clovis, NM @ Bandolero Brewing
09/02/2022: Alto, NM @ Enchanted Vine
09/03/2022: Ruidoso, NM @ Lost Hiker Brewing
09/04/2022: Las Cruces, NM @ T or T Brewing
 
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The March Divide | “I’m Not Perfect”
 

  

[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ougIiJ1TFmA
  
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“An open nod to the 1990s rock that was on the radio a lot after Kurt Cobain died, but it doesn’t sound like a retread. It sounds inspired.” – Central Track
 
“When it came to making the video for ‘I’m Not Perfect,’ I’ve always enjoyed working with Hector Gallardo of Subharmonic City Productions,” says Jared Putnam of The March Divide about the video for the first single from his upcoming sixth album, Lost Causes (June 10, Slow Start Records). “If a song brings out a tough memory or emotion that you’re just not ready to deal with, Hector can put visuals to it that will make you look and keep you from turning away.”
 
See the “I’m Not Perfect” video via Ghettoblaster Magazine here.
 
Texas-based music discovery website Central Track says of the song, “Fort Worth-based Jared Putnam has a soft spot for ‘90s pop rock. ‘I’m Not Perfect’ might be an open nod to the 1990s rock that was on the radio a lot after Kurt Cobain died, but it doesn’t sound like a retread. Compare it with songs from August and Everything After (Counting Crows) or New Miserable Experience (Gin Blossoms) and it sounds inspired, but not taking direct lifts from those records.”
 
Putnam elaborates, saying, “I’m Not Perfect” came out completely different than I had initially imagined. Writing sad songs about loneliness comes very naturally to me and this song was an idea that would check that box. When my producer, Mike Major listened to my rough demo, he heard it as a full-on rock song. It wasn’t until I heard the bass and drums that I realized I wasn’t seeing the forest for the trees. Something that was so obvious to everyone, but had been hiding behind in the blind spot of my comfort zone.”
 
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The March Divide | About
 

I wanna hate you. I’m not perfect. Giving up. King of the lost cause. This world is gonna end.
 
Jared Putnam is a funny guy. No, really, he is. Don’t let the negative words above, which comprise five of the ten song titles on Lost Causes (oops, he did it again!), Putnam’s sixth album as The March Divide, fool you.
 
Being able to laugh at yourself is one of the tenants of comedy and Putnam’s greatest strength has always been to take his everyman, self-effacing character and wrap it in urgent melodies backed by just-slick-enough production to draw you in and keep you there.
 
It’s why over the years music critics have called his songs “impressively hooky” (American Songwriter) with “classic pop hooks” (The Big Takeover) where his “pop sensibility comes entirely to the forefront” (Under The Radar).
 
As a next-door neighbor who you would actually like to know, Putnam doesn’t try to overstay his welcome, either. Even though he is a prolific songwriter, after the release of his appropriately titled fifth album cinc in April of 2021, he figured he was tapped out of ideas for a while.
 
Instead, he started making the best distillation of his talents to date. As Putnam tells it, inspiration returned as he was just out doing Dad stuff.
 
“I was driving my kid to school and Gin Blossoms came on the radio. I’m a forever fan of Gin Blossoms, but this was ‘Hey Jealousy,’ which commercial radio has been running into the ground for 30 years.
 
“But in that moment, it was the greatest thing I’d ever heard! The hooks, the subject matter, and all the rest were as they’d always been, but I was struck by how it was put together. In that moment, that’s what made the song great.”
 
Putnam has spent years deconstructing pop songs in an attempt to discover the formula. This “Hey Jealousy” epiphany may have been destined, because the blueprint of the connection Putnam realized while just doing Daddy duty allowed him to build Lost Causes.
 
“I’ve always been fascinated with dissecting what makes a song great and trying to find the catalyst for the chemical reaction that emotionally connects us to where a handful of tunes are run into the ground for 30 years,” he says of the rarefied air that a timeless hit song occupies.
 
Joining Putnam under The March Divide banner for Lost Causes are friends Ernie Garcia (long-time player with El Vez and Javier Escovedo) on bass and Jason West on drums.
 
“Our mutual love of Cheap Trick has always made Jason the perfect drummer for my songs,” Putnam says. Lost Causes was mixed and mastered by Mike Major (At The Drive-In, Coheed and Cambria.)
 
“Mike also produced a lot of great bands around the southwest,” Putnam explains. “It wasn’t lost on me that Gin Blossoms are from Tempe and have a very staple southwestern sound. Mike knew what I was going for.”
 
Lyrically, the songs on Lost Causes pick up where the last single from Putnam’s previous album left off. At the time, he had started to write in a more stream of consciousness style, even making a promise to himself not to change his words.
 
“It’s pretty satisfying to just say what you want to say, without worrying about how cool it sounds,” he said at the time.
 
This is why Putnam’s humor shines brighter than ever on Lost Causes.
 
I wanna hate you. I’m not perfect. Giving up. King of the lost cause. This world is gonna end.
 
We have all felt these things, but putting them in song, or voicing them at all could seem whiney or at least cynical and pessimistic.
 
Not so, with Putnam, who has become a master of this somewhat sarcastic craft. Instead, these songs are relatable confessions in a candy coating.
 
“Writing sad songs about utter loneliness comes very naturally to me,” he says. “These kinds of songs are very therapeutic for me to write.”
 
These sad songs are the ones that most connect with Putnam’s growing audience, especially those overseas that have propelled tunes such as his 2019 release “Secrets,” to just-shy of a million Spotify spins.
 
“I’m Not Perfect,” the first single from Lost Causes, started out as one of these “downer” tunes, but in sharing his early demo with his collaborators, Putnam was pushed to make it more, while keeping what makes it The March Divide. The tune opens Lost Causes and is a total success.
 
“Even though writing these types of songs is therapeutic for me, it’s also a rut,” Putnam says. “Emotionally, I got so much more out of working on ‘I’m Not Perfect’ by working with others. I’m hopeful that the fans who crave these songs from me will too. Maybe we can all get out of our sad bastard rut together.”
 
He’s a funny guy.
 
Lost Causes, the sixth album by The March Divide, is out now via Slow Start Records. Jared Putnam of The March Divide is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.
 
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The March Divide | Links
 
ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : BANDCAMP : SPOTIFY : APPLE : SLOW START RECORDS
 
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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact
 
WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL