
Technicolor Treatment Fuses With Mexo-Americana Roots on David Wax Museum’s ‘Guesthouse’, out Oct. 16 on Thirty Tigers
July 27, 2015
Technicolor Treatment Fuses With Mexo-Americana Roots on David Wax Museum’s ‘Guesthouse’, out Oct. 16 on Thirty Tigers
Entering a self-described Technicolor world, David Wax Museum’s new album ‘Guesthouse’ (Oct 16, Thirty Tigers) melds the band’s strong acoustic sound with synthesizers, layers of percussion, and adventurous sonic processing to create the band’s boldest studio album to date.
Recorded under the direction of producer Josh Kaufman (Josh Ritter, Craig Finn) and with the core of the band’s touring line-up from the past few years, ‘Guesthouse’ captures the rock energy of the band’s live show, which has topped best of lists at Newport Folk and SXSW, and continues to push the band into uncharted musical exploration beyond the “folk” tag that launched their career. The album opens with “Every Time Katie,” a whispered come-on that roils and pulses with gorgeous call and response vocals before delving into chamber strings, psychedelic vocal filters and explosive drums on the next song “Dark Night Of the Heart”. Other standout songs include “Young Man” an earnest musing on growing older and the title track, which draws musically on several traditional Mexican songs for a tongue-in-cheek reflection on the life of a traveling musician hunting for a free place to crash.
‘Guesthouse’ showcases frontman David Wax’s most direct and personal songwriting to date, which isn’t surprising given that since the last album over three years ago, he’s married his band’s co-creator Suz Slezak and the two have started their own family with the arrival of daughter Calliope (named after a beautiful-voiced Greek muse). Thematically, the album celebrates the changing circumstances of life and paints a brilliant picture of how the stakes have been raised – a sentiment that has had a huge impact on how the band makes decisions.
Praised for a “lively, unique style” (NPR) that “defies easy definition” (NY Times), David Wax Museum has supported The Avett Brothers, Langhorne Slim, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Buena Vista Social Club and is headlining their own tour this fall.
David Wax Museum Tour Dates:
07/28/15 – New York, NY – Hudson Sq. Music & Wine Fest @ City Winery
07/31/15 – Richmond, VA – The Camel
08/22/15 – Denver, CO – Denver Botanical Gardens
08/24/15 – Salt Lake City, UT – Red Butte Garden
09/05/15 – Portsmouth, NH – Prescott Park Arts Festival
09/11/15 – Harrisonburg, VA – Clementine Cafe
09/12/15 – Beloit, WI – 44th Annual Folk ‘n’ Blues Festival
10/16/15 – Portland, ME – Port City Music Hall
10/17/15 – Providence, RI – Columbus Theatre
10/18/15 – Northampton, MA – Iron Horse Music Hall
10/20/15 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Cafe
10/21/15 – Harrisburg, PA – Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center
10/22/15 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
10/23/15 – New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
10/24/15 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair
10/27/15 – New Haven, CT – Cafe Nine
10/29/15 – Newport, KY – The Southgate House Revival
10/30/15 – St. Louis, MO – Off Broadway Nightclub
11/03/15 – Columbia, MO – Rose Music Hall
11/04/15 – St. Paul, MN – Turf Club
11/05/15 – Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
11/06/15 – Chicago, IL – Schubas Tavern
11/07/15 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Tavern
11/08/15 – Columbus, OH – Rumba Cafe
11/10/15 – Nashville, TN – High Watt
11/12/15 – Knoxville, TN – The Square Room
11/13/15 – Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall
11/14/15 – Charlotte, NC – Evening Muse
11/15/15 – Atlanta, GA – Vinyl
11/17/15 – Charleston, SC – The Pour House
11/18/15 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle – Backroom
11/19/15 – Rocky Mount, VA – Harvester Performance Center
11/20/15 – Charlottesville, VA – The Southern
11/21/15 – Washington, DC – U Street Music Hall