St. Lenox Unveils Tribute to Graduate Student Unions and the DSA w/ “Lust For Life" | LP out 10/25 via Don Giovanni

St. Lenox Unveils Tribute to Graduate Student Unions and the DSA in “Lust For Life” Single/Video Available across platforms here Ten Modern American Work Songs LP out Oct 25 on Don Giovanni Records / Anyway Records Ten Modern American Work Songs album pre-order "Andrew Choi is one of the most intense and expressive vocalists in indie rock." - Stereogum "St. Lenox Offers a Rebuttal to J.D. Vance on New Single ‘Courtesan’" - FLOOD "He belts out his regrets with uncanny melisma, like John Darnielle channeling Tony Clifton.   As odd as it sounds, it's a genuinely affecting affect." - NPR "sharply evocative and richly imagined tales that … form part of Choi’s larger artistic project of expanding the definition of what gets to be considered an American narrative in the singer-songwriter tradition.” - Rolling Stone Singles: “Rudy” “Quasi-Nichomachean Ethics (Drunk Uncle Advice)” “Courtesan” “Lust For Life”

Photo credit: Aaron Cansler | Hi-Res Download Korean-American artist Andrew Choi will release his fifth album as St. Lenox, Ten Modern American Work Songs due out October 25 via Don Giovanni Records / Anyway Records. Early singles “Rudy” “Courtesan” and “Quasi-Nichomachean Ethics (Drunk Uncle Advice)” earned acclaim spanning Stereogum, FLOOD Magazine, GLAAD, Northern Transmissions and more. New song “Lust For Life” was inspired by Choi's experience as a PhD student at The Ohio State University, and ongoing efforts to start a graduate student union there in the mid 2010s.  The corresponding video, "What Do We Do With the Roses in Our Garden?" takes up a parallel progressive theme, in the form of a parable about leftist organizing in suburbia, as Choi tells the story of the rose bushes in the front of his new home in New Jersey. “My time in graduate school was spent getting a full appreciation of how the American economy does not value the Humanities,” shares Andrew. “It's almost like the system takes advantage of you, because it knows that you love something so much. You’re in a situation where you're like, ‘This is a trade off. I'm going to do something that I love, but I have to sacrifice my general enjoyment of life.” Watch / Share: “Lust For Life” video With his singular combination of tight pop melodies, topical and confessional lyrics, and his cathartic vocal howl, the progressive, queer artist harnesses his life experience to raise questions about the definition of success and the journey through higher education and the American workforce. Like many Millennials and Gen-Xers, Andrew grew up with the narrative that quality work and education would eventually lead to personal salvation and provide a path to upward mobility. To that end, Andrew became a pillar of achievement: flying to New York City to study violin at Julliard on weekends as a teenager, graduating magna cum laude from Princeton University, earning a PhD in philosophy in his 30s, attending law school at NYU Law and working in Manhattan at a law firm, while simultaneously grappling with the struggles of modern working life: low wages, massive student debt, and burnout. This tremendous amount of experience—and all of the observations therein—is channeled into Ten Modern American Work Songs, which is dedicated to the NYU Law Class of 2014 on its 10th anniversary. “I want the record to be a snapshot of work life in modern times,” he says. “I try my best in these records to provide a kind of realism.  I want the listener to come away with a vivid feeling of what it's like to work these days. Because ultimately that kind of realism is motivating to people on an ethical and political level. Anyone who has ever paused to wonder “What’s this all for?” as they climb the next rung in capitalist America will find solace in these stories, which, taken together, paint an evocative portrait of 21st century work life. Website | Facebook | Instagram | X Apple Music | Spotify | Bandcamp | YouTube