ALAN PALOMO (NEON INDIAN) RELEASES DEBUT SOLO ALBUM, WORLD OF HASSLE |
US HEADLINING TOUR TO BEGIN IN OCTOBER |
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Alan Palomo photo credit Daniel Everett Patrick (high-res download here) |
Alan Palomo, the auteur musician/producer behind the long-running avant-pop project Neon Indian, has unveiled his first full length release under his own name today, World of Hassle, via Mom+Pop. The record is a vivid piece of world-building that takes listeners into a surreal pocket dimension saturated with anxiety and nostalgia, where jazz-funk and wide-shouldered Claude Montana suits never went out of style, and the Cold War chill that suffused Leonard Cohen’s I’m Your Man never lifted. World of Hassle is a Pynchonesque place, packed with characters and situations rendered in dreamily absurdist strokes—guerilla freedom fighters camped out in a Rainforest Cafe in “The Wailing Mall,” a crumbling ex-pop star in “The Return of Mickey Milan,” the Leisure Suit Larry-does-Ibiza fantasy of “Nudista Mundial ’89” (featuring Mac DeMarco), whose indelible hooks and accompanying absurdist animated video by Johnny Woods immediately propelled the song to critical accolades and broad social sharing upon its release in May. |
LISTEN/STREAM WORLD OF HASSLE |
World of Hassle began as a new album for Neon Indian, the fourth installment of an unhurriedly growing body of work stretching back to 2009’s Psychic Chasms, with an intended swerve into vintage Peruvian cumbia and a political album concept, but was derailed by the ambiguous psychic space of quarantine, where concepts like “deadline” and “career trajectory” started to shed their certainty. Palomo unlocked a new flow by letting go of the album concept, followed by the Neon Indian name. He bought a piano and learned to play it properly, unlocking a creative current that pulled him in unexpected but fruitful directions. From the intricate fictional details packed into the cover art (co-created by Palomo and designer Robert Beatty), to the lyrical collage of pop culture and political references, to the music’s early-digital sheen, the album evokes the 80s golden age of rock stars like Bryan Ferry and Sting leaving their own breakthrough projects to strike out as jazzy solo musicians. It’s parody, sure—of rock star ego trips, the mall-ification of America, and our own self-obsession, even on the brink of apocalypse—but it’s also dead serious, the sound of history repeating itself as the Doomsday Clock clicks past its Reagan-era maximum and nuclear anxiety comes back into style along with digital synthesizers and sax solos. The deeper it pulls you into its own uncanny reality, the clearer it becomes how thin the borders are between Alan Palomo’s World of Hassle and our own. The album’s trajectory was introduced with the release of single “Stay-at-Home DJ,” a jazzy slice of electrofunk-infused synth pop that arrived alongside an animated visualizer by the album’s art director Robert Beatty. “Club People” and “La Madrileña” soon followed, detailing vivid scenes that illuminate the aesthetic breadth of Palomo’s artistic vision. The songs have immaculate craftsmanship with “La Madrileña” bolstered by long time live members Jorge Palomo and Max Townsley and “Club People” featuring piano from JoJo Polack (of Pearl & The Oysters), sax from Ian Young (of M83), backing vocals by Lou Rebecca, and production from Mac DeMarco and Nicholas Millhiser (of Holy Ghost). Not to be forgotten is the Italo-disco duet “Meutrière” with Flore Benguigui (paired with a stunning Giallo-inspired video directed by Palomo), as well as the indelible hooks of “Nudista Mundial ’89” (featuring Mac DeMarco). As World Of Hassle unravels, more wrinkles and possibilities reveal themselves, all lending themselves effortlessly to Palomo’s grand vision. |
Watch “Meutrière (feat. Flore Benguigui)” video Watch the “Nudista Mundial ‘89 (feat. Mac Demarco)” video https://alanpalomo.lnk.to/nudistamundial89/youtube Watch “Club People” lyric video https://alanpalomo.lnk.to/club-people-la-madrilena/youtube Watch “Stay At Home DJ” visualizer |
Palomo will intertwine his World of Hassle with reality as he embarks on a US tour supporting the album with his band, beginning October 17 in San Francisco, with opening acts from Neggy Gemmy, Girl Ray, Glove, and Mothermary. Find the full dates below including his scheduled appearance at Austin’s Levitation Festival. |
ALAN PALOMO US TOUR Oct 17 - San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel # Oct 20 - Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet's # Oct 21 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey !# Oct 23 - El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace ^ Oct 26 - San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger ^ Oct 27 - Austin, TX @ Levitation ^ Oct 28 - Dallas, TX @ Ferris Wheelers ^ Nov 2 - Chicago, IL @ Metro + Nov 3 - Detroit, MI @ El Club + Nov 4 - Lakewood, OH @ The Roxy + Nov 8 - Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts + Nov 9 - Washington, DC @ Atlantis Club + Nov 10 - Pawtucket RI @ The Met + Nov 11 - Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere + # with Neggy Gemmy ^ with Girl Ray + with Glove ! with Mothermary |
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World of Hassle Album Artwork (high-res download here) |
LISTEN/STREAM WORLD OF HASSLE https://alanpalomo.lnk.to/world-of-hassle |
World of Hassle tracklist 1. The Wailing Mall 2. Meutrière (feat. Flore Benguigui) 3. La Madrileña 4. Nudista Mundial ‘89 (feat. Mac DeMarco) 5. The Return of Mickey Milan 6. Stay-At-Home DJ 7. Club People 8. Alibi for Petra 9. Nobody’s Woman 10. Is There Nightlife After Death? 11. Big Night of Heartache 12. The Island Years 13. Trouble In Mind |
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