Afghan Whigs Frontman Greg Dulli's First Ever Solo Album 'Random Desire' Out Today Via Royal Cream/BMG!

AFGHAN WHIGS FRONTMAN GREG DULLI’S FIRST EVER SOLO ALBUM RANDOM DESIRE OUT TODAY VIA ROYAL CREAM/BMG

For the last 30 years, Greg Dulli, frontman of The Afghan Whigs and The Twilight Singers, has been the poet laureate of the bizarre whims and cruel tangents of desire. A foremost authority on the sell-your-soul rewards of carnal lust, the high voltage epiphanies of chemical enhancement, and the serotonin lows left in their wake.Therein lies Random Desire, the first solo album under Dulli’s own name, out today today, February 21st via Royal Cream/BMG. Dulli previously released singles “Pantomima,” (with an an All That Jazz inspired music video directed by long-time Whigs collaborator Philip Harder), “It Falls Apart,” and “A Ghost.” Dulli has also announced a full slate of North American tour dates to follow his previously announced European tour. The run kicks off in Minneapolis on April 24th and concludes in Los Angeles on May 28th. Other highlights include Metro in Chicago on April 25th, Webster Hall in New York City on May 6th and The Showbox in Seattle on May 23rd. All tour dates below. Early praise for Random Desire:  "His first solo work in more than a decade reminds us why he was one of the alt-rock era's most compelling tortured romantics." - Rolling Stone "His records are like romantic thrillers with all the exposition and character development stripped out, leaving only moments of heated conflict and disarming confessions.” - Pitchfork "Random Desire, looks to be the best snapshot yet of the musician’s dark, soulful style, filled with minor-key grooves and stirring torch-song anthems driven by his whiskey-on-honey voice." - The AV Club "Before they were rock royalty, Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen were artists who could best be classified as “If you know, you know.” That means before they got the deserved love, respect and acclaim that often comes with being able to survive the music industry for more than 30 years, they were those artists only those diehard fans would travel to see, get their lyrics tattooed on them and exclaim in wide disbelief when fans hadn’t heard of their heroes...You can add Greg Dulli to that group too." - SPIN  “Dulli remains a restless and unpredictable frontman, constantly distorting his voice from a soaring falsetto into a bellowing bass, as though he's just getting started.” - Uncut Magazine "Whereas ‘Pantomima’ cut through cynical themes with sharp, driving instrumentation, ‘It Falls Apart’ allows itself to get pulled into its darker inclinations. Perpetually falling piano notes grip at the melody, miring it in a sense of inevitable collapse. Even so, the synthesizers and drums push upward, giving Dulli’s vocals something to hook onto as he sings..." - Consequence of Sound "Haunting, desolate and broody from the very first bars, Random Desire is a ten-song joyride through the darkest depths of Dulli's mind — told with the poetic poignancy only he can muster...Dulli has spent his whole career as a shape-shifting storyteller and Random Desire sees this continue...Dulli continually finds ways to explore the hidden pain of the human experience." - Exclaim! "Dulli revels in murky, edgy, often choppy waters as he shifts from a booming baritone to falsetto in songs that won’t be troubling the hit parade anytime soon...Dulli’s unconventional, minor key songwriting, distinctive vocals and playing that, even with guests on every track, comes primarily from his mind and hands." - American Songwriter "’It Falls Apart’ errs on the eerie side of Dulli’s signature sound, veering from the punchy deconstructed pop of ‘Pantomima’ toward pensive minor chords, weeping keyboard drones, and percussive tension that builds but never breaks. It’s kind of like the Greg Dulli version of Radiohead’s ‘Reckoner,’ which means it rules." - Stereogum "’It Falls Apart’ is dark, sleek and sultry, with strings and synths riding atop a pulsing beat." - Brooklyn Vegan Random Desire started in the aftermath of the last Whigs record, 2017’s In Spades, which Pitchfork named one of the best rock records of the year, hailing it as a “heavy, menacing work of indie rock majesty…thrilling and unsettling.” Drummer Patrick Keeler was about to take a short sabbatical to record and tour with his other band, The Raconteurs. Dulli’s longtime collaborator, bassist John Curley went back to school, and there was the tragic death of the band’s guitarist, Dave Rosser.  In response, Dulli returned to his teenage bedroom roots, finding musical inspiration via the model of one-man-band visionaries Prince and Todd Rundgren. The Los Angeles-by-way-of-Hamilton Ohio native wrote nearly every part of the record from piano lines to drums to bass riffs. As always, the music came first and the lyrics were completed later. Recording and writing way stations included his home in Silver Lake, the village of Crestline high up in the mountains above San Bernardino, and New Orleans. But the bulk was finished amidst the arid beauty and stark isolation of Joshua Tree (at the studio of engineer Christopher Thorn). Dulli handled most instrumentation, but an all-star cast of characters appear across the track-listing including The Whigs’ guitarist Jon Skibic and multi-instrumentalist Rick G. Nelson, Mathias Schneeberger (Twilight Singers), pedal steel wizard, upright bassist, and physician Dr. Stephen Patt, guitarist Mark McGuire (Emeralds) and drummer Jon Theodore (Queens of the Stone Age, The Mars Volta).  Clocking in at a lean 37 minutes, Random Desire is a clinic put on by a veteran master operating at the height of his powers, offering evidence of the hard-fought and weary wisdom learned from setbacks and victories alike. A lucid, confident and self-assured document of the songs of experience, the perils of existence, and the possibilities that offer themselves anew with each breath. Another death and rebirth from an outlaw who has seen it all and somehow lived to tell.

Photo Credit: Maciek Jasik ‘Random Desire’ Track listing:  1) Pantomima 2) Sempre 3) Marry Me 4) The Tide 5) Scorpio 6) It Falls Apart 7) A Ghost 8) Lockless 9) Black Moon 10) Slow Pan Greg Dulli / 2020 Tour Dates: March 19 - Róisín Dubh - Galway, IRELAND March 20 - Whelans - Dublin, IRELAND March 22 - SWG3 Warehouse - Glasgow, UK March 23 - Gorilla - Manchester, UK March 24 - Islington Assembly Hall - London, UK March 26 - Paradiso Noord - Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS March 27 - Muziekodroom - Hasselt, BELGIUM March 28 - Trix - Antwerp, BELGIUM March 30 - Luxor - Cologne, GERMANY March 31 - Lido - Berlin, GERMANY April 02 - Hotel Cecil - Copenhagen, DENMARK April 03 - Debaser Strand - Stockholm, SWEDEN April 04 - Parkteatret - Oslo, NORWAY April 24 - 7th Street Entry - Minneapolis, MN  April 25 - Metro - Chicago, IL  April 26 - St. Andrew’s Hall - Detroit, MI  April 28 - Beachland Ballroom - Cleveland, OH  April 29 - Woodward Theater - Cincinnati. OH  April 30 - Mr. Smalls - Pittsburgh, PA  May 01 - The Great Hall - Toronto, ON CANADA  May 03 - Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA  May 05 - 9:30 Club - Washington, DC -  May 06 - Webster Hall - New York, NY - May 07 - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA May 09 - The Grey Eagle - Asheville, NC  May 10 - Cat’s Cradle - Carrboro, NC  May 12 - The Loft - Atlanta, GA  May 15 - One Eyed Jacks - New Orleans, LA  May 16 - 3Ten @ ACL Live - Austin, TX  May 17 - Granada Theater - Dallas, TX  May 19 - Bluebird Theatre - Denver, CO  May 22 - Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR  May 23 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA  May 26 - August Hall - San Francisco, CA  May 28 - Palace Theater - Los Angeles, CA  Find Greg Dulli online at: Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube Listen