Alex Lilly stars with Highland Park Clowns in “Spirit,” written for her grandma; “She would’ve liked this song even though she only listened to jazz.”

Lilly’s “Repetition Is A Sin” is out now on Release Me Records label owned by Inara George of The Bird and The Bee; See Lilly live in LA this Saturday.

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Alex Lilly as photographed by Daiana Feuer

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Alex Lilly | “Spirit”

[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZw272GiryU

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“Alex Lilly, whose music is to the current plethora of pop what a Picasso is to a selfie.” — Buzz Bands LA

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“Spirit” is a song about my grandma,” says Alex Lilly of the tune taken from her just-released second solo album Repetition Is A Sin. “She was a multi-layered person, so I wanted to express that musically with a lot of layers and melodies.

“Though ‘spirit’ is meant to mean her spirit, as in her character, she died just before I wrote the song and so it came to mean both definitions of the word. I think she would’ve liked ‘Spirit’ even though she only listened to jazz.”

The music video for the song features Lilly performing with The Highland Park Clowns, a Los Angeles based ensemble that explores new angles on postmodern clowning.

Lilly says, “I’ve wanted to make something with them for a while after their performances around Los Angeles. For the video, a Vogue-style shoot gone full-tilt clown seemed perfect for the song, which is about really seeing someone’s true spirit.”

Jet Eveleth — The Highland Park Clowns director — explains that the ensemble is “committed to exploring the state of awe while pushing the boundaries of theater,” and strives to “examine the human condition through the lens of play while paying tribute to its ancestry in Commedia dell’arte.”

Lilly is joined in the “Spirit” video by The Highland Park Clowns ensemble members Madam Honeybear, Cake 2, Peanut Butter, Nipples, Chocolate, Food, Licorice, Bear, Couch, and Bean.

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Alex Lilly | Live

Alex Lilly at Permanent Records (1906 Cypress Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90065)

Sat., Dec. 17^th at 8PM w/ Molly Miller, Gothic Tropic, and Glenn Brigman

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Alex Lilly | In The Press

“Alex Lilly’s songs keep their cool.” — The New York Times

“Alex Lilly is the genuine article.” — FLOOD

“Pretty freaking awesome.” —  FADER

“Alex Lilly is spellbinding. Album of The Week” — LA Weekly

“Alex Lilly steps into the spotlight.” — Flaunt

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Alex Lilly

Repetition Is A Sin

(Release Me Records)

Out Now 

 

Track Listing:

01. Pure Drivel (VIDEO)

02. Frank (STREAM)

03. I’m Getting Better At Falling In Love (STREAM)

04. Spirit (VIDEO)

05. Rosalind

06. Delight Me

07. Human

08. Melinda (VIDEO)

09. Afternoon In Bloom

10. Bugs Bunny

11. Built For Chaos

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Alex Lilly | “Melinda”

[YOUTUBE]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltrCW6hHFDo

[SOUNDCLOUD]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/alex-lilly-melinda

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“During the early pandemic days when I lost all my work, I started composing jingles and theme songs for people,” explains Alex Lilly of how “Melinda” came to be.

Lilly continues, “I have a hetero-girl crush on the supremely talented and unique, Melinda Sullivan. Melinda’s man asked me to write a jingle for her. Melinda’s jingle is a true story! We appeared in a music video together, pretended to kiss, and... oh, those lips! We also played at The Gardenia, so the song is a play-by-play! I was delighted when she agreed to give me a tap lesson for the ‘Melinda’ video.”

“Melinda” also features saxophone by James King from Fitz & The Tantrums, drums by Barbara Gruska from Belle Brigade, and bass by Gabe Noel.

“Melinda’s spirit of talent and hotness is all over this song,” Lilly says. “At first I was worried that the lyrics came on too strong but when you’re inspired, you’ve got to go for it!”

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Alex Lilly | “Pure Drivel”

[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQVtzFhSK9o

[STREAM]: https://Fanatic.lnk.to/AlexLilly-PureDrivel

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According to The New York Public Library, since 1982, libraries across the United States have observed Banned Books Week, a time to highlight titles that were targeted for removal from schools and libraries. In 2022, there has been a particularly aggressive wave of bans and challenges across America.

The American Library Association, which pioneered Banned Books Week, has reported a record amount of books banned in recent years—many of which center people of color and LGBTQ+ voices.

Alex Lilly’s “Pure Drivel,” taken from her upcoming album Repetition Is A Sin (Oct. 21, Release Me Records) addresses the subject in song, in which she sings “I know you canceled all your plans, so come over, let’s read some books that got banned.”

The choreographed video for the tune, filmed in and around a Berlin library, is streaming now.

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Alex Lilly | About

Repetition is a sin — is it a mantra? A judgment? A fact?

 
Repetition Is A Sin is the title of the upcoming second album by Alex Lilly.
 
Repetition Is A Sin is also a cliffhanger! Will Lilly live up to the challenge she’s issued to herself following the hearty praise for her 2019 debut 2% Milk?
 
“Everything about this debut album by Alex Lilly is spellbinding,” said L.A. Weekly. “Pretty freaking awesome” and “the genuine article” wrote The FADER and FLOOD. NPR’s Los Angeles affiliate KCRW called 2% Milk “a pleasure” and Jon Pareles wrote in The New York Times that Lilly’s songs deliver “structural and emotional complexity with deceptive nonchalance.”
 
Lilly’s talents are on point for other artists, as well. Her co-write of “I Like Girls” for jazz vocalist Samantha Sidley (“Now she’s gluing garden gnomes to geodesic domes, people call it junk, I call it art”) spring boarded that record to a “Top 10 Album of The Year” nod from the Los Angeles Times.
 
Spoiler alert!
 
Lilly’s latest fulfills the promises she made with her first album and much more.
 
First, Repetition Is A Sin is funny! Conversational and free, it is the sound of self-actualization. Lilly’s thoughtful and intelligent wordplay, unexpected and exhilarating production touches, and emotional vulnerability are pure joy.
 
Contrasting this with Lilly’s awesome sense of humor, it is also pure power!
 
And so, with the album opener and first single “Pure Drivel,” Lilly issues an anthem and rebel yell for...  librarians! Because, of course.
 
“I know you canceled all your plans
So come over let’s read some books that got banned mama”
 
“I wanted to write a stay-in date night about reading — a nerdy booty call,” she says. “I was in a book club over the pandemic, which was interesting as we mostly just drank and smoked and never finished a single book.” Lilly then quickly adds, “I’m not proud of this!”
 
Lilly spent part of her pre-solo career touring as part of Beck’s band and he attended Lilly’s book club to read the first chapter of “Moby Dick.”
 
“Because we never finished it, I can only confirm that the first half of ‘Moby Dick’ is great,” she jokes.
 
What Lilly can confirm absolutely is that Repetition Is A Sin “feels emotionally brighter and more jewel-toned than 2% Milk.”
 
The trifecta of tunes that open Repetition Is A Sin include “Frank,” in which Lilly mentions her closest friends by name while questioning if she will get to party with them in the afterlife.
 
“I don’t wanna go to heaven
Cuz none of my friends will be there
No one will be
Getting plastered with me
In the air”
 
“These are all real people mentioned in the song except for Frank,” Lilly explains. “I don’t know who he is. Maybe I will someday.”
 
The many character-driven songs on the album were partially inspired by the pandemic.
 
“Being isolated from people for a bit spurred me on,” Lilly says. “I had a hobby for a while where I was commissioned to write theme songs for humans, including this spectacularly talented and cute tap dancer living in Los Angeles.”
 
That project inspired the album’s “Melinda.” “Well if I ever turn gay, let’s go, If you ever stop being straight, Well let me know,” Lilly sings.
 
“It was a lot of fun and I continued the idea of song portraits for several other tracks on this record, almost like creating my own company that includes friends (“Frank”), movie stars (“Rosalind”), a cartoon character’s alter ego (“Bugs Bunny”), my grandma (“Spirit”), and Frank, the made-up drunk.”
 
The album’s most moving tune is next, a love song like no other. It is an all or nothing moment for Lilly. “I’m Getting Better At Falling In Love” is confessional, vulnerable, optimistic, and hopeful.
 
And of course, hilarious:
 
“I’m getting better at falling in love
I’m getting so good, gotta mind to do it full-time
Love muscles getting buff
Now it’s all that I can do”
 
“I’m Getting Better at Falling in Love” is a happy love song,” Lilly says. “It’s an anomaly for me.”
 
It’s a tune destined to become some couple’s “our song.” So lovey-dovey, but the humor of it all is still just within arm’s reach.
 
Lilly invokes “Seinfeld” character George Costanza to make a point about where she’s coming from on this record, asking, “Do you know the episode where George decides to do the opposite of everything he usually does just to see what difference it makes in his life? I could keep making mistakes, but they had to be new ones. Musically and personally. Repetition is a sin.”
 
On the musical tip, Lilly says, “My recording mindset was very different than it had been in the past. This time, the sounds are dialed in so well, but the feeling is loose.”
 
To make this happen, on the recommendation of friend and fellow musical risk-taker, John Vanderslice, Lilly worked extensively with engineer James Riotto to create Repetition Is A Sin.
 
“We went deep into harnessing the sounds of old oscillators and drum machines, and then syncing them up using an interface. This was the kind of wizardry I was after!
 
“It sounded so good off the bat that it didn’t need to be perfect, which is a pretty swift departure from my normal process. Previously, I felt like I had been an actor in a movie, where I could rely more on editing. Now, I was actor in a play, and had to commit to the emotional arc of an entire take.”
 
Lilly’s movie vs. play analogy is about the best description of this record yet. Unlike a film that you’ve already seen, each listen to Repetition Is A Sin contains the tension of a unique performance. It’s a cliffhanger!
 
Repetition Is A Sin, the second solo album by Alex Lilly, is out now via Release Me Records. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.
 
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Alex Lilly | Links
 
ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : RELEASE ME RECORDS
 
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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact
 
WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

Sloan Simpson (Sloan Brothers) teams with Robert Schneider (Elephant 6 / The Apples In Stereo) for new four-song split EP, out now.

Project is debut of duo’s Obligatory Refractions; First pressing clear vinyl sold-out, red vinyl now available via Chunklet Industries.

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Sloan Simpson as photographed by Sean Dunn

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Obligatory Refractions | “Stranger In My Head”

[STREAM]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S0yOUhAs6o
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“‘Stranger In My Head’ is the first song finished by my new songwriting collaboration with Robert Schneider,” explains Sloan Simpson of Sloan Brothers. The song is one of four on a newly-released split EP via Chunklet Industries that combines two new Sloan Brothers tunes with two songs by Obligatory Refractions, Simpson’s new project with Schneider, who is best known as the leader of The Apples In Stereo and co-founder of the Elephant 6 Recording Co.
An initial clear vinyl pressing of the EP is now sold out and a limited red vinyl pressing has just been made available. The songs are also available on all streaming services.
Simpson continues, “Robert had a chord progression and a few words. We texted those back and forth until we’d written the lyrics, and I fleshed out the rest of the arrangement. Robert wanted me to sing lead on this song, but we plan to rotate that duty going forward. That’s Robert singing the harmony on this one.”
Sloan Simpson is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.
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Sloan Brothers / Obligatory RefractionsSplit EP(Chunklet Industries)Out Now
Streaming Link:STREAM FULL EP

Track Listing:

01. Girl From The Internet (Sloan Brothers)

02. 48M (Sloan Brothers) (VIDEO)

03. Robert’s Psychotropic Teatime (Obligatory Refractions)

04. Stranger In My Head (Obligatory Refractions) (VIDEO)

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Also Now Available | Sloan Brothers | System Update

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Sloan Brothers | In The Press

“Spirit of adventure is evident... and is one of its finest qualities.” — Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Simpson’s compositional ear is crafted by his expansive tastes.” — Flagpole Magazine

“Begs to be played on repeat.” — Glide Magazine

“Infectiously fuzzy pop.” — Treble

“A musical force of nature.” — Athens Music Junkie

“Beautiful... Pleasant, sunny and energetic!” — Indie For Bunnies

“Challenging psychedelic music.” — Last Day Deaf

“Hits perfectly.” — Closed Captioned

“Simpson may not covet the spotlight, but he sure knows how to share it.” — Immersive Atlanta

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Sloan Brothers

System Update

(Science Project Records)

Out Now

 

Streaming Link:

STREAM FULL LP

 

Track Listing:

 

01. System Update (REMIX)

02. Cleopatra Echo (STREAM)

03. Cryin’ Shame

04. Anxiety (STREAM)

05. Songs Like This (STREAM)

06. Love You So Good (STREAM | VIDEO)

07. So Good (Reprise)

08. Amplified

09. Coffee Black

10. Into My Mind

11. Mirrorball

12. Smile Down On Me

 

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Sloan Brothers | About

  

Sloan Simpson has been recording for over two decades. Until now, none of the music has been his own.

 

This changed with the release of his debut album System Update (out now via Science Project Records) under the name Sloan Brothers.

 

Though Sloan Simpson says that while making his debut album he was “listening to mainly The Cure,” the album’s opening one-two punch of the title track and the instrumental “Cleopatra Echo” feels like Daft Punk invited Herbie Hancock to form a trio jamming with The Grateful Dead during that band’s most spirited era of ever-evolving journeyman collaboration.

 

Wow, how did Simpson get here?!

 

The Athens, Georgia-based musician played rock and jazz guitar growing up, but was frustrated by the hit his talents took when a serious car accident sidelined him. Simpson sold all of his guitars and quit the instrument.

 

With music still in his blood, if not in his grasp, Simpson began to document, through live taping, the local scene in his new hometown of Atlanta, eventually relocating to nearby Athens after years spent driving between the two as part of his recording endeavors. His new hobby had become a good habit.

 

“I had a permanent recording setup installed and the reality of losing my favorite venue really set in when I had to go remove it,” Simpson says of The Caledonia Lounge, a nationally-recognized Athens club that closed in October of 2020, sidelining him again.

 

Like the life-changing event that inspired his recording career of recording others, the closing of the Caledonia was eerily fortuitous for Simpson. While live music was in shutdown, he wrote and recorded his first song.

 

“It was the first vocals I’d ever sung into a microphone,” Simpson says. With his friend, guitarist Kevin Sweeney contributing solos, the first Sloan Brothers single “For You” was released later that month.

 

Pleased with the experience, Simpson picked up a bass, more microphones, and drum software. Though he returned to guitar, he says that even without formal training, “playing keyboards is what allowed me to start writing songs.”

 

He also started calling up more friends.

 

Simpson explains, “I asked my friend Robert Schneider (co-founder of The Apples In Stereo and Elephant Six Recording Co.) if he would record backing vocals on the song “Into My Mind,” and he agreed. As I kept writing more songs, I would ask more friends I knew from recording shows over the years to contribute guest parts.”

 

In addition to Sweeney and Schneider, some three-dozen or more local luminaries also appear on System Update, including current and former members of Maserati, Olivia Tremor Control, Japancakes, of Montreal, Drive-By Truckers, Cracker, Casper & The Cookies, Camper Van Beethoven, Elf Power, and more.

 

In fact, it was Elf Power’s Andrew Rieger that inspired Simpson’s songwriting on the album’s first single, “Songs Like This.”

 

“I asked Andrew if he would sing on something if I wrote one he liked,” Simpson jokes. “Andrew sings the high part in the choruses and it was perfect for Kevin Lane of local pop legends The Possibilities to sing in the verses with me. I’ve been friends with Bryan J. Howard of Cracker for nearly 20 years now, and he jumped in on bass.”

 

The tune has one the most relatable indie rock crush-couplets you’ll ever hear and is a defining example of the quality of Simpson’s songwriting future.

 

“I saw you buying records and I saw you at the coffee shop

 

I didn’t hear your order but I bought the same record you got”

 

These words provide a mere glimpse into Simpson’s ability to explore emotion with the kind of candor that only comes from experience brought by age.

 

“I had long been avoiding expressing feelings as some sort of misguided version of the ‘cool’ that rock ‘n roll had taught me growing up,” he admits. “Once I lost family, I realized that it’s okay to express pain, trauma, and desires.”

 

After half a lifetime taking home tapes of the personal struggles of others in song, it’s about time that Simpson is giving us the same opportunity with his unexpected, thrilling work.

 

System Update, the debut album by Sloan Brothers is out now.

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Sloan Brothers | Links

 

ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : BANDCAMP : SPOTIFY : APPLE

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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

 

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

An all-vocal, feminist mini-opus, Jenny Parrott’s “Pregnancy Choir” is “joyful, somber, chaotic, and dissonant all at once,” says Austin Chronicle.

“An internal chorus grapples with the realities of pregnancy, from the thrill of life to the policing of women’s bodies” on artist’s latest release.

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Jenny Parrott self-portrait with baby Juno

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Jenny Parrott | In The Press

In its soaring review of the new all-vocal, feminist mini-opus by Austin-based artist, Jenny Parrott, the Austin Chronicle writer, Alejandra Ramirez states:

“‘Pregnancy Choir’ digs in – clawing back layers to reveal a beautiful glimpse into motherhood. Joyful, somber, chaotic, and dissonant all at once. An internal chorus grapples with the realities of pregnancy, from the thrill of life to the policing of women’s bodies.”

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Jenny Parrott
“Pregnancy Choir”
(Rachel Rachel Records)
Out Now

 Streaming Link:

STREAM ALBUM

Track Listing:
 
01. Tree Funeral
02. In 6 Rows (STREAM)
03. Runnin’ To You (STREAM)
04. Origin (YOUTUBE)
05. Rain
06. Sharp Sound
07. Make Me Love

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Fellow Feminist Artists on “Pregnancy Choir”

“Illustrates voices in our heads and voices all around us.” — Rachael Price (of Lake Street Dive)

“A beautiful, literate window into a parent’s soul.” — Brennen Leigh (Singer-Songwriter)

“Strange and beautiful echoing vocals that wrap around your heart.” — Raina Rose (Songwriter)

“Radical! High concept and beautifully feminist.” — Mary Ellen Iatropolous (Literary Scholar)

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Jenny Parrott | “Origin”

 

[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAOq6Ag3X8s
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“With ‘Origin,’ I’m thinking of where I came from, who I want to be, and how to end cycles of abuse, so Juno and I can be free,” Jenny Parrott says about the “Origin” segment of her eight-minute, all-vocal, feminist mini-opus “Pregnancy Choir,” out now. “It’s a dark topic, but the music is light and airy and gentle.”
“Pregnancy Choir” was recorded using only Parrott’s voice during pregnancy with baby Juno.
Documentarian and mixed media artist, Jillian Godshall has created an animation for “Origin,” explaining the piece by saying, “I relate to Jenny’s expression of the many voices we hear throughout pregnancy and parenthood. As a recent mother myself, I found it overwhelming to have so many people share their opinions about my body and my baby.
“I created the animation for ‘Origin’ as a reminder to return to the voice within. Incorporating images inspired by medieval and renaissance art, ‘Origin’ is an invitation across time to tap into the divine feminine.”
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Jenny Parrott | About

 
Austin-based artist, songwriter, and new parent, Jenny Parrott has released “Pregnancy Choir,” an eight-minute musical poem presented over seven tracks.
 
Centered mainly around her layered vocals (recorded while pregnant with baby Juno), Parrott says, “‘Pregnancy Choir’ explores what it’s like to be in a pregnant body and to hear many voices: Ancestors, doctors, lovers, friends and relations all talking to and at you. “Literally ‘Joe Everyone’ tries to give advice,” she jokes.
 
The voice we hear the most through Parrott on “Pregnancy Choir” is the one she describes last: “Your own brain’s ‘Lil Greek Chorus.’”
 
The piece is a surprising change from the twang of Parrott’s 2021 album The Fire I Saw, but no less deeply felt. It’s her ability to effectively channel emotion that has brought attention to Parrott’s work over the years, regardless of style.
 
This time, “Pregnancy Choir” piece came out of necessity.
 
“I tried to record using my usual gear and instruments,” Parrott remembers. “I just gave up one night and was like, ‘Let’s see what I can do with just vocals. No bending, no lifting! Also, I’ve been obsessed with Bernice Johnson Reagon, Grouper, and Björk for a while.”
 
While “Pregnancy Choir” is deep in concept, it’s also a joy. The circumstances surrounding its creation, and the cover art featuring the duo of Jenny and Juno, may subtly remind of the Talking Heads baby-based hit, “Stay Up Late.”
 
Still, Parrott reminds of the reality that sometimes the “Lil Greek Chorus” is “at odds with itself, experiencing the thrill of life, fear of death, excitement, and foreboding all at once. It rejects the ‘Earth Mama’ ‘Pinterest-y’ branding of pregnancy in favor of an honest dive in the conscious, sub-conscious, and general cacophony they create in a mind.”
 
Parrott is also acutely aware of what experiencing pregnancy and becoming a new parent means at this moment in our society.
 
“Being able to create and sustain life is a magical thing,” she confides, “But the magic is dimmed by living in a culture that seeks to control bodies. It can feel like a pregnant person’s body is a public commodity. Some of the dissonance in the album is meant to reflect that.”
 
When it’s done, Parrott hopes to leave a listener without “the barrage of opinions and messaging you receive living in a pregnant body in Texas in 2022,” and more with the ability of the “Lil Greek Chorus” to support, transform, and uplift.
 
“Pregnancy Choir” by Jenny Parrott is out now via Rachel Rachel Records.
 
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Jenny Parrott | Links
 
ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : BANDCAMP : SPOTIFY : APPLE
 
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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact
 
WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL