Cass Mccombs — Mangy Love (Aug. 26, 2016) |
Cass Mccombs — Mangy Love (Aug. 26, 2016) ≡♦≡ American singer~songwriter known for his haunting voice and intense songcraft. The Californian succeeds, once again, in exposing the ugliness of mankind. It’ll get under your skin.
Location: Los Angeles, CA ~ Chicago, IL ~ Brooklyn, New York, NY, USA
Born: 1977 in Concord, California, USA
Genres: Rock, Singer~Songwriter, Soft
Instruments: Vocals, Guitar, Piano, various
Album release: Aug. 26, 2016
Record Label: ANTI–
Duration: 59:19
Tracks:
01. Bum Bum Bum 5:00
02. Rancid Girl 4:22
03. Laughter Is The Best Medicine 5:18
04. Opposite House 4:15
05. Medusa’s Outhouse 4:55
06. Low Flyin’ Bird 6:02
07. Cry 4:45
08. Run Sister Run 5:52
09. In A Chinese Alley 3:16
10. It 5:12
11. Switch 4:14
12. I’m A Shoe 6:08≡♦≡ Over the past decade, Cass McCombs has established himself as one of our premier songwriters. It’s a career that has twisted and turned, from style to subject, both between records and within them. Diverse, cryptic, vital and refreshingly rebellious — just when you think you have him pinned down, you find you’re on the wrong track.
≡♦≡ However, “Mangy Love”, his Anti– Records debut, is McCombs at his most blunt: tackling sociopolitical issues through his uniquely cracked lens of lyrical wit and singular insight.
≡♦≡ McCombs uses himself as a mirror to misguided and confounding realities, confronting them head–on: “Rancid Girl” reads like a ZZ Top study in Kardashian politics, “Run Sister Run” a mantra for a misogynistic justice system, “Bum Bum Bum” displays a racist, elitist government through the allegory of sadistic dog breeding; the album is sewn together by a common thread of ‘opposition,’ most directly articulated in “Opposite House”, with allusions to mental illness. ‘Laughter Is The Best Medicine’ provides a possible recipe for healing, with the help of an authentic medicine man, the legendary Rev. Goat Carson. The severity of his lyrics is contrasted by the music, which ventures into groovy realms of Philly soul, NorCal psychedelia and New York paranoia punk, articulating the spontaneity and joy of his live show better than ever before.
≡♦≡ The record is unquestionably a work of great studio aptitude: a carefully arranged, high–fidelity production by veteran Rob Schnapf and Dan Horne. And as usual, McCombs is joined by many notable members of his eclectic musical tribe, whose names are proudly displayed on the back cover.
≡♦≡ Mostly written during a bitter New York City winter and while traveling in Ireland, Mangy Love is Cass at the top of his game, reaching new sonic heights, creatively evolving lyrically, and resulting in his most provocative and complete record yet. ≡♦≡ http://www.anti.com/Review
| August 18, 20167:00 AM ET
≡♦≡ Recalcitrant singer–songwriter Cass McCombs has never cared for The Man. The quiet iconoclast is about to release his eighth studio album, “Mangy Love”, and not once has he caved to the whims of labels, critics or fans. That’s not to say his music is confrontational; in fact, his ‘70s AM vibe might go down too smoothly for some. But McCombs’ dedication to craft and distaste for compromise is unwavering. It’s the kind of steely self–confidence that provides fleeting inspiration to the rebel hiding inside all of us, before we go back to whatever pays our bills.
≡♦≡ On “Mangy Love”, McCombs aims his fascist–killing machine at some controversial topics. Right out of the gate, “Bum Bum Bum” calls out the U.S. military–industrial complex: “You think you’ve heard it all before / Well, here’s once more / We’re all at war.” In “Run Sister Run,” he gets explicit about women’s reproductive rights: “They’re coming at you from all sides / To imprint your body and say they didn’t.”
≡♦≡ McCombs isn’t staging this 12–song filibuster by himself. The session musicians conjuring those ‘70s vibes might constitute his best backing band yet. Bassist and studio wizard Dan Horne teams with Gang Gang Dance drummer Jesse Lee for some Grateful Dead grooves that would make Phil Lesh and Bill Kreutzmann proud, if not a little jealous. Aiding Horne behind the boards is Rob Schnapf, who helped produce some of Elliott Smith’s most memorable work. And it needn’t go unmentioned that indie–rock do–no–wrong Angel Olsen makes a special appearance in the album’s lead single, “Opposite House.” ≡♦≡ http://www.npr.org/
Also:
BEN HOMEWOOD, 18TH AUGUST 2016 / SCORE: 4/5
≡♦≡ Cass McCombs is walking down an alleyway and he finds a dead girl naked inside an icebox. He walks on, through black clouds of exhaust, past a dry cleaners and finds Brigid, who’s straddling a heater to keep warm. They drink green tea and contemplate evil before saying goodnight.
≡♦≡ That’s a summary of ‘In A Chinese Alley’, one of 12 songs on the cult Californian’s ninth album ‘Mangy Love’, a record that captivates like a Hollywood classic and takes your mind hostage like a favourite novel. This gnarly, nomadic songwriter has honed his grubby poetry over the 13 years since debut album ‘A’, and he continues to combine it with humour, surreal imagery and deeply melodic folk–rock here. (excerpt)
≡♦≡ http://www.nme.com/reviews/cass-mcCombs/16548 // Also: Interview
By Ethan Swan, October 31, 2007
♦ http://www.vice.com/read/mystery-man-v14n11 // The Elusive Shroud of Cass McCombs
by Zac Pennington
♦ On paper, McCombs’ many contradictions might make him sound totally incomprehensible and inaccessible — in fact the vast majority of his music is simply palatable indierock by design. Outside of McCombs’ effortlessly brilliant melodies, there are few immediate cues that his music is at all discernibly superior to much of what it resembles. McCombs’ elaborate sonic shroud — only reinforced by the one he purposefully surrounds himself with — has a suspiciously enveloping property over time; a syrupy, nostalgic haze with an earwiggy way of embedding itself into eardrums. It may be emotionally blank, but in the same sense, it’s also emotionally manipulative — wistfully evocative in a way that’s more universal than personal. It’s this incredibly elusive quality that’s at the heart of McCombs’ brilliance — and one that, despite my best efforts, I’m never able to satisfyingly characterize. Trust me on this one — that’s a good thing. (excerpt) ♦ http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=34372&category=22153
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cassmccombs // Label: http://www.anti.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CassMcCombs
Press: Jessica Linker l Pitch Perfect PR Albums:
♦ A (2003)
♦ PREfection (2005)
♦ Dropping the Writ (2007)
♦ Catacombs (2009)
♦ Wit’s End (2011)
♦ Humor Risk (2011)
♦ Big Wheel and Others (2013)
♦ A Folk Set Apart (2015)
♦ Mangy Love (2016)
EPs:
♦ Not the Way E.P. (2002)
_____________________________________________________________
Cass Mccombs — Mangy Love (Aug. 26, 2016) |
Cass Mccombs — Mangy Love (Aug. 26, 2016) ≡♦≡ American singer~songwriter known for his haunting voice and intense songcraft. The Californian succeeds, once again, in exposing the ugliness of mankind. It’ll get under your skin.
Location: Los Angeles, CA ~ Chicago, IL ~ Brooklyn, New York, NY, USA
Born: 1977 in Concord, California, USA
Genres: Rock, Singer~Songwriter, Soft
Instruments: Vocals, Guitar, Piano, various
Album release: Aug. 26, 2016
Record Label: ANTI–
Duration: 59:19
Tracks:
01. Bum Bum Bum 5:00
02. Rancid Girl 4:22
03. Laughter Is The Best Medicine 5:18
04. Opposite House 4:15
05. Medusa’s Outhouse 4:55
06. Low Flyin’ Bird 6:02
07. Cry 4:45
08. Run Sister Run 5:52
09. In A Chinese Alley 3:16
10. It 5:12
11. Switch 4:14
12. I’m A Shoe 6:08≡♦≡ Over the past decade, Cass McCombs has established himself as one of our premier songwriters. It’s a career that has twisted and turned, from style to subject, both between records and within them. Diverse, cryptic, vital and refreshingly rebellious — just when you think you have him pinned down, you find you’re on the wrong track.
≡♦≡ However, “Mangy Love”, his Anti– Records debut, is McCombs at his most blunt: tackling sociopolitical issues through his uniquely cracked lens of lyrical wit and singular insight.
≡♦≡ McCombs uses himself as a mirror to misguided and confounding realities, confronting them head–on: “Rancid Girl” reads like a ZZ Top study in Kardashian politics, “Run Sister Run” a mantra for a misogynistic justice system, “Bum Bum Bum” displays a racist, elitist government through the allegory of sadistic dog breeding; the album is sewn together by a common thread of ‘opposition,’ most directly articulated in “Opposite House”, with allusions to mental illness. ‘Laughter Is The Best Medicine’ provides a possible recipe for healing, with the help of an authentic medicine man, the legendary Rev. Goat Carson. The severity of his lyrics is contrasted by the music, which ventures into groovy realms of Philly soul, NorCal psychedelia and New York paranoia punk, articulating the spontaneity and joy of his live show better than ever before.
≡♦≡ The record is unquestionably a work of great studio aptitude: a carefully arranged, high–fidelity production by veteran Rob Schnapf and Dan Horne. And as usual, McCombs is joined by many notable members of his eclectic musical tribe, whose names are proudly displayed on the back cover.
≡♦≡ Mostly written during a bitter New York City winter and while traveling in Ireland, Mangy Love is Cass at the top of his game, reaching new sonic heights, creatively evolving lyrically, and resulting in his most provocative and complete record yet. ≡♦≡ http://www.anti.com/Review
| August 18, 20167:00 AM ET
≡♦≡ Recalcitrant singer–songwriter Cass McCombs has never cared for The Man. The quiet iconoclast is about to release his eighth studio album, “Mangy Love”, and not once has he caved to the whims of labels, critics or fans. That’s not to say his music is confrontational; in fact, his ‘70s AM vibe might go down too smoothly for some. But McCombs’ dedication to craft and distaste for compromise is unwavering. It’s the kind of steely self–confidence that provides fleeting inspiration to the rebel hiding inside all of us, before we go back to whatever pays our bills.
≡♦≡ On “Mangy Love”, McCombs aims his fascist–killing machine at some controversial topics. Right out of the gate, “Bum Bum Bum” calls out the U.S. military–industrial complex: “You think you’ve heard it all before / Well, here’s once more / We’re all at war.” In “Run Sister Run,” he gets explicit about women’s reproductive rights: “They’re coming at you from all sides / To imprint your body and say they didn’t.”
≡♦≡ McCombs isn’t staging this 12–song filibuster by himself. The session musicians conjuring those ‘70s vibes might constitute his best backing band yet. Bassist and studio wizard Dan Horne teams with Gang Gang Dance drummer Jesse Lee for some Grateful Dead grooves that would make Phil Lesh and Bill Kreutzmann proud, if not a little jealous. Aiding Horne behind the boards is Rob Schnapf, who helped produce some of Elliott Smith’s most memorable work. And it needn’t go unmentioned that indie–rock do–no–wrong Angel Olsen makes a special appearance in the album’s lead single, “Opposite House.” ≡♦≡ http://www.npr.org/
Also:
BEN HOMEWOOD, 18TH AUGUST 2016 / SCORE: 4/5
≡♦≡ Cass McCombs is walking down an alleyway and he finds a dead girl naked inside an icebox. He walks on, through black clouds of exhaust, past a dry cleaners and finds Brigid, who’s straddling a heater to keep warm. They drink green tea and contemplate evil before saying goodnight.
≡♦≡ That’s a summary of ‘In A Chinese Alley’, one of 12 songs on the cult Californian’s ninth album ‘Mangy Love’, a record that captivates like a Hollywood classic and takes your mind hostage like a favourite novel. This gnarly, nomadic songwriter has honed his grubby poetry over the 13 years since debut album ‘A’, and he continues to combine it with humour, surreal imagery and deeply melodic folk–rock here. (excerpt)
≡♦≡ http://www.nme.com/reviews/cass-mcCombs/16548 // Also: Interview
By Ethan Swan, October 31, 2007
♦ http://www.vice.com/read/mystery-man-v14n11 // The Elusive Shroud of Cass McCombs
by Zac Pennington
♦ On paper, McCombs’ many contradictions might make him sound totally incomprehensible and inaccessible — in fact the vast majority of his music is simply palatable indierock by design. Outside of McCombs’ effortlessly brilliant melodies, there are few immediate cues that his music is at all discernibly superior to much of what it resembles. McCombs’ elaborate sonic shroud — only reinforced by the one he purposefully surrounds himself with — has a suspiciously enveloping property over time; a syrupy, nostalgic haze with an earwiggy way of embedding itself into eardrums. It may be emotionally blank, but in the same sense, it’s also emotionally manipulative — wistfully evocative in a way that’s more universal than personal. It’s this incredibly elusive quality that’s at the heart of McCombs’ brilliance — and one that, despite my best efforts, I’m never able to satisfyingly characterize. Trust me on this one — that’s a good thing. (excerpt) ♦ http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=34372&category=22153
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cassmccombs // Label: http://www.anti.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CassMcCombs
Press: Jessica Linker l Pitch Perfect PR Albums:
♦ A (2003)
♦ PREfection (2005)
♦ Dropping the Writ (2007)
♦ Catacombs (2009)
♦ Wit’s End (2011)
♦ Humor Risk (2011)
♦ Big Wheel and Others (2013)
♦ A Folk Set Apart (2015)
♦ Mangy Love (2016)
EPs:
♦ Not the Way E.P. (2002)
_____________________________________________________________