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Erin McKeown To Release Surprise EP According To Us This Friday, June 24th
“Sugar In A Pie” Premieres on Stereogum
Will Perform as Special Guest on the
Welcome To Night Vale July Tour
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Musician, writer, producer, and activist Erin McKeown will release a surprise EP this
Friday, June 24th titled According To Us via her own label TVP Records. As an artist known for defying form and genre, the new 6 song collection adds another chapter to her unique body of work and fits right into her modus operandi: clear, challenging, and unexpected. Stereogum premiered today her new track “Sugar In A Pie” and stated, “The tension between the jubilant aesthetic of the song and the subtle fierceness of her hopes and wishes is wonderful.”
Listen to “Sugar In A Pie” here:
“This song celebrates the sweetness and trap of love,” stated McKeown. “‘A moment on the lips, an eternity on the hips,’ as they say. Yet somehow, just like sugar, we cannot stay away from love. I also think it would make a tremendous car or detergent commercial.”
Since the release of her debut album Distillation in 2000, McKeown has built a career on her prolific disregard of stylistic boundaries, producing 9 albums of original songs that have passed through swing, pop, blues, rock, and electronic before landing on According To Us’s dynamic mixture of gospel, hip hop, and jazz. McKeown’s choice to write in these personal and expressive genres is not by accident.
An experienced and outspoken activist, McKeown had felt particularly inspired by the current trend of so-called “religious choice” and “bathroom” laws. Her answer to that type of legislated fear and discrimination is “The Queer Gospel”, a song that begins as a hymn then rips into an inspired electric guitar solo by McKeown. Joining her on the track are Chicago pianist Susan Werner and drummer Jason Smith. In addition to guitar, McKeown plays piano, bass, and percussion across the whole release.
CLICK HERE to listen to “The Queer Gospel” which debuted last week in the new episode of the popular podcast Welcome To Night Vale. She will also join the Welcome To Night Vale July US tour as a special guest performer.
Written before the mass shooting at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando, the song has taken on extra, painful resonance for McKeown. “The hatred and discrimination directed towards our LGBT community is not just laws and talk, it has again manifested as violence and lives have been lost. My song asks that you ‘love us as we are / See us and we’re holy / In this shall we shall ever be / wholly ourselves.’ I sing this now with the added plea for everyone to do whatever they can to stop homophobic violence.”
According To Us is also deeply influenced by the work McKeown has labored over for the last 5 years: her first musical. Co-written with Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony-nominated playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes (In The Heights, Water By The Spoonful), the creation of Miss You Like Hell has allowed McKeown to explore her songwriting skills in a different environment. Miss You Like Hell premieres this fall at La Jolla Playhouse.
According To Us will be available via digital EP and 7″ flexi disc single.
Track List:
01) Once a Bomb, Always a Bomb
02) Sugar In A Pie
03) Where Did I Go
04) The Player
05) Your Enemies
06) The Queer Gospel
Welcome To Night Vale Tour Dates:
July 07 – Tampa, FL @ Tampa Theatre
July 08 – New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre
July 10 – San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theatre
July 11 – Dallas, TX @ Majestic Theatre
July 13 – Albuquerque, NM @ Kimo Theatre
July 14 – Mesa, AZ @ Mesa Arts Center
July 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum Theatre
July 16 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
July 18 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Capitol Theatre
July 19 – Boise, ID @ Egyptian Theatre
July 21 – Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
July 22 – Seattle, WA @ Benaroya Hall
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