FDH is very happy to have Digital Leather returning to us for his next full length “Modern Problems”. I find the first full length since 2009′s “Warm Brother” to be a breath of fresh air. Alot more pop driven then anything done by the band in years and possibly in the bands entire catalog (even getting into some sort of digital powerpop ground in my opinion).We cant post any of the songs yet but will have one up not to far down the road. I can say its almost all new material.
Here is what Shawn Foree (Digital Leather) had to say
“I grew up in Yuma, Arizona (Guinness named it the sunniest place on Earth). It borders California and Mexico, where I spent a lot of time. Dropped out of high school pretty early, drifted around for awhile, then moved to Tucson and started taking classes at the University of Arizona. I have a degree in 19th century American Lit. Spent a chunk of college loan money on gear and got hooked on recording songs.
While attending, I met Jay Reatard through a mutual friend. Jay liked my stuff. Did some tours with him. Released several CDR’s, a self-titled LP and some singles. Put out a record on Jay’s label, Shattered. Later, with Goner, then Fat Possum among others. He and I were very close friends and big fans of each other’s music, often covering each other’s songs. My large catalog is in part due to trying to keep up with him.
I was in a destructive relationship and tired of Arizona. I moved to Omaha, Nebraska in 2009 after finishing Warm Brother (Fat Possum) and started an four-month tour with a newly-formed lineup. In 2010, after Jay died, I left Fat Possum. I decided I needed a change of scene so I seized an opportunity and moved to Berlin. That’s where the inspiration to do Modern Problems first came to me. The demo for “Soup” was recorded there. Berlin had a big impact on me. There is so much culture and life in that city. Spending time there with someone special made it even more amazing. I lived there over 3 months, then went on an insane month-long European tour. I flew back to Omaha hoping to work on my album.
Modern Problems is a narrative of the grieving process. I wanted to explore that universal experience with real ambition, so I created a kind of alter ego to relate the story of a loss, which is where the record starts- when the protagonist has lost a loved one and is in denial. He battles with despair and anger, vainly seeks hope. The final acceptance in “Door” comes reluctantly. I didn’t want to get too cerebral so I decided to keep the music itself upbeat and somewhat simple in order to complement the heavy topics.
For Modern Problems I took my time with the writing and just let life happen. The songs came naturally. I vocalized more on this record than in the past. My voice sometimes cracked like a pubescent teenager’s, but instead of covering that up I decided to just let it show. Actually, there’s no digital editing on MP. I wanted to keep it pure in that sense. Tracks were laid in one or two takes.
Modern Problems was recorded 100% on tape. By myself. In my home. I’ve recorded albums in all kinds of studios on all kinda of rigs. These songs needed a warm medium and an intimate setting to work and I had the set-up. At first I tried to distance myself emotionally from the content, but I found out almost immediately that wasn’t going to happen. This is personal stuff, and I hope it will strike a note with listeners beyond the catchiness and directness of the compositions.
I signed with Absolutely Kosher in late Spring 2011, but they made the hard decision to close their doors after 13 years of business. So I called up some friends at FDH (who released Jay Reatard’s synthpunk masterpiece World of Shit) and we decided to proceed. ”
|
