Soon: Mike Adams At His Honest Weight – Preparation Age EP

[gmoney]

Mike Adams At His Honest Weight rounds out 2015 with Preparation

Age, a new 5-song one-sided LP. The Bloomington, IN based band has

two full-lengths to their credit and operate in an experimental pop

framework that touches on Wheat’s Hope and Adams, Grandaddy’s The

Sophtware Slump, and Soft Bulletin-era Flaming Lips with Beach Boys

harmony sensibilities. Their previous album, Best of the Boiler Room Classics,

was released in 2014 on Flannelgraph Records and Joyful Noise of which

Pitchfork said “Part crooner and part pop star, Adams projects an outsize

persona from the stage, which he then punctures with his between-song

banter. Somehow he manages to come across as both ironic and deeply

sincere, goofing on the conventions of pop music even as he embraces

them as a means of communicating some deep pain.” These five songs

were recorded during the same sessions as a forthcoming 2016 full-length

and serve as companion songs and a taste of what is to come. They build

on the solidly crafted pop songs of Boiler Room Classics through sonic

experimentation and take the Mike Adams At His Honest Weight

sound into a hazier new territory.

 

The drums tracks were recorded at Sleepwalk Recording in Bloomington,

IN on 1/2" tape at 1.5x speed and manually slowed down. The tape adds

depth and warmth and the speed adjustments give the drums a strange,

dreamy quality, especially to the cymbal sustains. That baseline

support colors Preparation Age and the future full-length.

 

“Lehrpez” is stripped down and opens the EP with a revamped take on

‘50s doo-wop finger snaps and plunking bass melody filtered through a

Beach Boys harmonic sensibility. "Too Mas" incorporates some social

media crowd-sourced backing vocals. Adams made a request through

Facebook and Twitter looking for volunteers to contribute backing vocals.

Adams then took the submitted tracks, including one from his own

parents, and merge them all, unaltered, as the somewhat eerie call-andresponse

refrain. “Live Alone” builds from some shimmering synth lines

and breathy harmonies to a schmaltzy ‘70s variety show horn section and

guitar solos. “Weather On” is a bit of a down tempo personal reflection of

the past and friends who have drifted away supported by piano melodies

and string and synth swells. "Unforgettable People" is a reference to a

Charles Kuralt special of the same name featuring a rich tapestry of

portraits of regular, everyday people who are all doing strange and

extraordinary things. But, in true Mike Adams fashion, the lyrics raise an

eyebrow to some Kuralt skeletons in the closet by way of a secret second

family revealed two years after Kuralt’s premature death in 1997.

Throughout Preparation Age, Mike Adams manages to tell stories of

forgotten friends and everyday people, turning fear and anxiety from the

departed past into something pleasing and beautiful.

 

Preparation Age is presented in a limited pressing of 500 copies with the Bside

featuring a pinball machine influenced design by Bloomington artist

and musician Chad Serhal. The jacket was designed by Bloomington

collage/print artist Janelle Beasley. While not being released digitally, the

one-sided LP does include a digital download for listening convenience.

 

Out on Sounds Familyre on December 4.

 

New full-length next year.

[anchorclose]

Mike Adams can do no wrong musically.  husband&wife is one of my all time favorite bands, and I will most certainly continue to support anything/everything this dude puts out.

[mindovermatter]

Will buy without hesitation.

[Sidney Crosley]

I love that the press release mentions Wheat's Hope and Adams as a framework. That is one of my all-time favourites, and it's probably why I loved Boiler Room Classics. Excited to hear anything Adams puts out. 

Thanks for sharing this!

[gmoney]

Up on Amazon at a pretty damn good price. $10.98.