Event Details
On sale Friday, 6/17 at 10am!
$32.50 ADV | $35.00 DOORS
Doors 7:30pm | Show 8:30pm
Uncompromising,
enigmatic, and wildly ambitious, Brooks Nielsen
(co-founder and lead singer of Southern California surf-psych icons The
Growlers) is proud to announce his first full-length solo album
One Match Left:
a double-vinyl, twenty-song journey into the heart of darkness, and toward the light that eventually remains.
“There’s
happiness in there,” says Nielsen, speaking from his Los Angeles home. “The bands that I like have a sense of humor, like
Television Personalities
or Jonathan Richman,
but there’s tragedy too. That’s the old theatrical tradition.” One
Match Left showcases these aspects in epic fashion, with Nielsen
playing the role of carnival barker, lullaby crooner, and rock & roll priest, depending on the track. It’s actually Nielsen’s first time around without his partners from The Growlers; he’s now joined by old friends Christopher Darley (guitarist for
Father John Misty)
and Levi Prairie on songwriting duties.
No
stranger to the emotional landscapes of modern pop life, producer Michael
Andrews expands the songs from the theatrical and into the cinematic.
From his Elgin Park Recordings studio in Glendale, Andrews makes chart-topping hits (like the song “Mad World” from his soundtrack to
Donnie Darko)
and cult favorites (he scored the entirety of Freaks
& Geeks and Pete Davidson’s
King of Staten Island).
“He’s an encyclopedia and extremely talented,” says Nielsen of Andrews. “Which meant he could be a great commander in the studio.”
Assembling
a core team of himself on guitar and bass, Robert Walter (TheGreyboy Allstars)
on keys, and Joey Waronker (Beck,
Atoms For Peace)
on drums, Andrews infuses the material with a lush palette, more akin to Harry Nilsson and Serge Gainsbourg than anything we’ve heard before from Nielsen. Album opener
“All That You’ll See is Everything”
sets a carnivalesque tone, a loopy and optimistic revelation
about the songs that follow. “Virgin Lady Luck”
alternately thunders and whispers, a standout single that’s already turning heads on social media.
“Long Train”
channels Charanjit Singh’s Ten Ragas to a
Disco Beat and West African jammers Tinariwen into a driving
dance party. “How Do You Like It So Far (This
Life)” attempts the impossible: thoughtful reggae pop, free
of beach bum clichés, woven together into an atmospheric dub soundscape.
“It’s all a bit of smoke and mirrors,” says Nielsen, speaking both of
One Match Left
in general, and of the cover art made with photographer
Pamela Littky
(known for her surrealist ad campaigns for hit shows like Dave and Pam & Tommy). Nielsen as magician, as clown, as poetic trickster. Through the prism of time, we’ll see
One Match Left
for the many things that it is: a reflection on the death of a relationship, a public reckoning for a fan-favorite band, a love letter to his wife (and mother of their three young children), a survey of global sound and vision, and a daring step forward for
one of contemporary music’s most essential voices, Mr. Brooks Nielsen.
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