Thu, Apr 10 at 9:45 AM
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Album Art
The Colorado-based alt-country rock band Gasoline Lollipops announce that their upcoming LP Kill The Architect will release on June 13, their debut with ALP Recordings. Produced by longtime Los Lobos member Steve Berlin, the album tackles our struggle for balance and connection in the midst of political turmoil. The first single “Humanity,” also out today, reflects that – addressing both what brings us together and what drives us apart over bluesy piano and twangy guitar that give the song a cautiously optimistic sound. The video portrays frontman and lyricist Clay Rose as a satirical game show host, interviewing his own human conscience and frenetically dancing around a colorful garage space.
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About the new track, Rose shares: “‘Humanity’ swings like a rusty pendulum between our need to accept responsibility for our lives in the throes of late-stage capitalism, and the anesthetizing self-infatuation of social media and consumerism. It’s a post-apocalyptic beauty pageant, and we’re all runners up. Who will be crowned Queen of Ground Zero? Who will be trampled in the race for glamour? Just remember folks, when you’re flat on your back, with the imported stiletto heel of the American Dream boring a hole through your throat, there’s nowhere to look, but up.”
Kill the Architect began to take shape as Rose composed music for Sam & Delilah, a psychedelic country ballet based upon the Biblical tale of Samson and Delilah. Like the ballet, much of the album is about the duality of human nature – good and evil / light and dark – and how balance is only achieved when we accept both sides of the coin into ourselves. This is also reflected in the album’s sound, with many of the songs firmly rooted in the band’s folk and country influences and the other half owing more to the noisy punk rock Rose grew up listening to. Not only does this mirror the ways in which he sees societal change coming about – the first being a soft touch or a sense of comfort and the other being what he puts as a “smack upside the head” or a wake up call – but more importantly, it also mirrors the competing forces within all of us.
“As humans, we've separated ourselves based upon our beliefs and the identities we've created,” shares Rose. “Those things might have weight, but ultimately, it's not real. It's fleeting. It goes away when you go to sleep. It's not worth dying for, and it's certainly not worth killing for. If you've gotta kill something, kill your identity and be liberated. That's what Kill the Architect is about.”
Rose first met Berlin when the band opened a Colorado show on Los Lobos’ 50th anniversary tour, and before long, Berlin met the band at Dockside Studio in Lafayette, Louisiana, where they recorded Kill the Architect during a series of live-in-the-studio performances. In addition to Berlin, the album features appearances from a number of Rose’s friends and musical collaborators. GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov provided vocal harmonies on “Mercy,” Fruition’s Mimi Naja turns “Horse Or The Cart” into a classic country duet, which was co-written with Phoebe Hunt. And Rose even invited his mother Donna Farar, a longtime Nashville songwriter, to help craft “Tennessee Nights.”
Growing up, Rose divided his time between Nashville where his mother, the songwriter behind Willie Nelson’s hit single “Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning,” lived and Colorado where his draft-dodging, pot-slinging truck driver father resided. He tapped into these experiences for this album – yet another example of the duality of life. Formed in the early 2000s as a cow-punk duo, the Gasoline Lollipops’ hometown following in Colorado eventually began to expand and so did their lineup, which currently includes Don Ambory, Scott Coulter, Brad Morse and Kevin Matthews. Now on their sixth record, they’ve distilled their ever-evolving sound into something signature and distinct, capturing a band firing on all cylinders, their tank filled to the brim, and their wheels pointing toward a horizon of their own making.
To stay up to date with upcoming tour dates, please visit gasolinelollipops.com.
Kill the Architect began to take shape as Rose composed music for Sam & Delilah, a psychedelic country ballet based upon the Biblical tale of Samson and Delilah. Like the ballet, much of the album is about the duality of human nature – good and evil / light and dark – and how balance is only achieved when we accept both sides of the coin into ourselves. This is also reflected in the album’s sound, with many of the songs firmly rooted in the band’s folk and country influences and the other half owing more to the noisy punk rock Rose grew up listening to. Not only does this mirror the ways in which he sees societal change coming about – the first being a soft touch or a sense of comfort and the other being what he puts as a “smack upside the head” or a wake up call – but more importantly, it also mirrors the competing forces within all of us.
“As humans, we've separated ourselves based upon our beliefs and the identities we've created,” shares Rose. “Those things might have weight, but ultimately, it's not real. It's fleeting. It goes away when you go to sleep. It's not worth dying for, and it's certainly not worth killing for. If you've gotta kill something, kill your identity and be liberated. That's what Kill the Architect is about.”
Rose first met Berlin when the band opened a Colorado show on Los Lobos’ 50th anniversary tour, and before long, Berlin met the band at Dockside Studio in Lafayette, Louisiana, where they recorded Kill the Architect during a series of live-in-the-studio performances. In addition to Berlin, the album features appearances from a number of Rose’s friends and musical collaborators. GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov provided vocal harmonies on “Mercy,” Fruition’s Mimi Naja turns “Horse Or The Cart” into a classic country duet, which was co-written with Phoebe Hunt. And Rose even invited his mother Donna Farar, a longtime Nashville songwriter, to help craft “Tennessee Nights.”
Growing up, Rose divided his time between Nashville where his mother, the songwriter behind Willie Nelson’s hit single “Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning,” lived and Colorado where his draft-dodging, pot-slinging truck driver father resided. He tapped into these experiences for this album – yet another example of the duality of life. Formed in the early 2000s as a cow-punk duo, the Gasoline Lollipops’ hometown following in Colorado eventually began to expand and so did their lineup, which currently includes Don Ambory, Scott Coulter, Brad Morse and Kevin Matthews. Now on their sixth record, they’ve distilled their ever-evolving sound into something signature and distinct, capturing a band firing on all cylinders, their tank filled to the brim, and their wheels pointing toward a horizon of their own making.
To stay up to date with upcoming tour dates, please visit gasolinelollipops.com.
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Photographer Credit: Eleanor Segel Williamson Missing Piece Group |
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