“You’ve got to be the loudest person in every room, and, for me, that just isn’t healthy; I don’t like that,” Schwartz confides to magazine’s IMPACT column.
+++
Matthew
Schwartz of Pacifico as
photographed by Mike Dunn for Rust + Rebel
+++
Pacifico
Self Care
(Pacifirecords)
Out Now
Track Listing:
01. Self Care (Intro)
05. Hearts On Fire
06. Lola
08. Haunt You (feat. Dolour)
09. I’m So Gone
10. Agoraphobia
11. Run
13. Leave (Outro)
PLAY, POST & SHARE
Pacifico | “Comatose”
[STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/Pacifico-Comatose
Matthew Schwartz of Pacifico
chatted
with SPIN recently about mental
health for the magazine’s IMPACT column. The in-depth conversation focuses on
the new album Self Care (out
now), which is about these issues, and more specifically, the album’s single “Comatose,” which zeros in on how the
music industry can take its toll on artists.
SPIN says,
“Pacifico might not be a band, but
on the eve of touring, the lead singer of this sweating, breathing, electrified
‘idea’ wants the music industry to know he’s so over its crap.
“The gigs, which kick off in Atlanta, showcase Self
Care, an album out
February 10 that vocalist Matthew
Schwartz says is a nice-knowing-ya to the scene: a message he’s sending for
the sake of his mental health.
“He points to the third track, ‘Comatose,’ which Schwartz says is about making healthy boundaries and ending
abusive relationships, ‘which for me, has been with the industry.’
“Schwartz tells
SPIN about a 2003 debacle wherein Pacifico was allegedly scammed by an
L.A. manager who used up the group’s funds before encouraging them to probe
their parents for more money. He uses the term ‘tossed around’ to describe his
treatment as an artist in the industry.”
+++
Pacifico | Record
Release Show
Sponsored WREK,
Atlanta and Criminal Records
02/18/2023: Atlanta, GA @ Smith’s Olde Bar (Record Release Show) (Tickets)
+++
Pacifico | About
When we last heard from Matthew Schwartz of Pacifico on his early 2022 EP release “‘05/‘22,” we were hearing the Matthew Schwartz of Pacifico from 17 years earlier.
True to the title, much of that explosive batch of songs was recorded in 2005, misplaced via hard drive in the pre-cloud era, then eventually found, completed, and released.
On the new full-length Self Care (Pacifirecords), now sounds like NOW.
Schwartz’s first full-length in five years comes with all of the pent-up emotion one would expect from meticulously composing a statement under the veil of cleaning out a desk drawer of old material (literally, in this case.)
“Wait
Hold my beer
There’s so many things I’d love to say if I don’t just walk away from here”
The lyrics, from one of the album’s upcoming singles “Comatose,” shares an energy with early-2000s skate punk, but from the wise perspective of a now mature voice who would naturally follow-up the above lyric with:
“You used to be such a good friend
So I’ve taken it upon myself to grab things and call this the end”
That’s what self-care is about.
“The lyrics on this album all center on self-care,” Schwartz confirms. “This is the most diverse and most vulnerable group of songs I have ever created.”
The album isn’t called Self Help for a reason. It’s Self Care, and there’s a difference.
From songs about not giving up, to going for your goals, to being a present listener and creating healthy boundaries, Self Care reflects a willingness to enjoy the journey, come what may.
“It’s also about encouraging and loving others,” Schwartz says.
“It’s ok
None of this matters anyway
We all make mistakes
Hell I just made more than three today”
A song written for his wife, these lyrics come from the so-catchy-it’s-criminal “Don’t Play Dead,” the lead single from Self Care.
“It’s my letter of encouragement to her,” Schwartz explains. “I also want this song to encourage anyone who becomes stuck.”
That’s what self-care is about.
Self Care, the album, however, isn’t all about straight up the middle earworms.
The various styles that Schwartz and his world-class collaborators stich seamlessly include genres from 1950s to tomorrow.
Some of the artists and musicians who worked on Self Care include Peter Randall (bassist with Seal, Adele, and The Kooks) and Shane Tutmarc of Dolour (featured on the track “Haunt You,” in addition to providing backing vocals, keys, and percussion.) Self Care was mixed by Aaron Sprinkle, best known as a platinum record-earning and chart-topping producer, with artwork is by Adult Swim’s Trey Wadsworth.
“There are fast punk songs, slow acoustic ballads, strings, piano, horns, and everything in-between,” Schwartz says.
“Hearts on Fire” is a soulful detour near the end of the album’s first half that shows off the nimble dexterity of the writing and playing here. Calling Jeff Buckley, Lenny Kravitz, and Janelle Monae’s sounds as influences on the song, it fades with the glory of a choir.
“Complicated, Confiscated,” the album’s penultimate song, is clearly a nod to Elliott Smith. A plaintive acoustic number, it is rendered with as much respect as the legendary songwriter commands (and with as much beauty.) Schwartz’s empathetic connection to Smith runs deep.
“Complicated
This picture’s faded
I’m all but gone from here right now”
“‘Complicated, Confiscated’ expresses exactly how I feel when I am overcome with depression,” Schwartz confides. I have used this song by singing it like a mantra to help me work through tough times.”
And that’s what Self Care is about.
Self Care, the fourth full-length album by Atlanta-based Pacifico is out now along with the singles “Don’t Play Dead,” “Afterglow,” “Comatose,” and “Complicated, Confiscated.”
+++
Pacifico | Links
No comments:
Post a Comment