Aimee Mann Readies New Album@#%&! Smilers & Tour

 Aimee Mann’s seventh solo release to date, @#%&! Smilers, is a return to form after the artistic detours of 2005’s concept album The Forgotten Arm and 2006’s Christmas CD One More Drifter in the Snow.
 
 Featuring thirteen new original songs, producer Paul Bryan describes the record as “deceptively powerful…very rich and grand sounding”. The songs range from the stripped-down-to-basics of “Columbus Avenue”, to the almost Cars-esque synth-pop of “Freeway”, along side the classic Jimmy Webb/Glen Campbell-era “Phoenix”, and the hushed creepiness of “Little Tornado.” The final song “Ballantines” is a duet with Sean Hayes complete with barroom piano and trombone section. All of the songs were penned by Mann, with the exception of “True Believer”, co-written with fellow singer-songwriter Grant Lee Phillips.
 
 An amalgamation of sounds, Aimee explains “we tried not to echo any previous albums…for this one we wanted to use a different palate, thus replacing electric guitars with distorted Wurlitzers, Clavinets, and analog synthesizers. We made the low end and rhythm section full and organic-sounding, with Jay Bellrose’s quirky approach to percussion and my acoustic guitar together. For this album the acoustic guitar is present in a new way, one that melds with Jay’s rhythm section and acts as an adjunct to the high-hat. On top of that we layered detailed interwoven keyboards and on select songs added a lush string section; on others a full horn section.” The album was recorded in the latter part of 2007 at the Sound Factory studios in Los Angeles, engineered by Ryan Freeland and mastered by Gavin Lurssen.
 
 After finishing off 2007 with her critically acclaimed sold-out Christmas tour, Aimee will return to the road in support of Smilers this Spring and Summer, including a stop at Bonnaroo. Look for upcoming appearances on NPR’s All Things Considered and the Ovation channel’s Live from the Artist’s Den performance series, amongst others.
  
Aimee Mann On Tour
 
 June 2          Los Angeles, CA                Largo
 June 6          Anaheim, CA                    House of Blues
 June 10        Los Angeles, CA                Largo
 June 12        Minneapolis, MN                Minneapolis Zoo
 June 13        Milwaukee WI                   Pabst Theater
 June 15        Manchester, TN                 Bonnaroo Music Festival
 
 July 9           Boulder, CO                     Chautauqua Auditorium
 July 11         Denver, CO                     Denver Botanical Gardens
 July 12         Park City, UT                   Deer Valley Resort
 July 14         Saratoga, CA                   Mountain Winery
 July 15         Rosebud, OR                    Stewart Park
 July 16         Seattle, WA                     Seattle Zoo
 July 24         Calgary, Alberta                Calgary Music Festival
  

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