Luther Russell is a songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist who was born in Los Angeles, CA. His career began with DGC/American Recording artists, The Freewheelers, twenty-five years ago. More recently, he has worked with Robyn Hitchcock, Jody Stephens of Big Star (as part of their duo, Those Pretty Wrongs), and written songs with Weezer for their Grammy Nominated White Album. As a solo artist he has released an eclectic series of albums, culminating in 2018’s highly-praised two-CD retrospective, Selective Memories: An Anthology on Hanky Panky Records, and SoCal’s own underground sensation, Burger Records.
Luther’s sixth studio album, Medium Cool, will be released on LP and CD on February 22, via Portland, Oregon label Fluff and Gravy Records and on cassette by Burger Records. It was preceded in November 2018 with the 7″ single “The Sound of Rock and Roll” b/w “Saturday’s Child” (a non-album track). Containing music that swings wildly between the madly rambunctious and starkly personal, Medium Cool is described by Luther as “a rough rock & roll album, roughly about rock & roll”, though, in many ways the album is a kind of lament for the Los Angeles of his youth. Thankfully, Luther’s version of a ‘lament’ these days appears to be plugging in the guitar, cranking up the amp and blasting out his thoughts and feelings straight to tape. Luther was joined by Derek Brown of the Eels on drums for this project, and Liam Hayes of Plush makes a rare appearance, playing guitar on the poignant elegy, “Blue Balloon”.
Today Glide is excited to premiere “Talking To Myself”, which captures exactly what makes Luther Russell such a compelling artist. The song is a jangly power pop tune that brings to mind – perhaps not surprisingly – Big Star. Russell crafts a song that is about as catchy as it gets but also doesn’t slack on showing off a little guitar mastery. It also takes us back to a time when rock bands actually made compelling music that balanced emotion and songwriting prowess. Russell has definitely earned his credentials as a songwriter and musician, and with “Talking To Myself” it’s clear he has seamlessly continuing what has already been a fruitful and productive career.
Russell describes the song in his own words:
“While it can be argued that this lyric concerns something deeply personal, I think it’s based on an experience that isn’t unique. We’ve all been through something long, lasting and meaningful only for it to end, whether unceremoniously, or ceremoniously. A piece of you is gone. It’s not necessarily sad, just true. And that truth is being reported here. The tune probably came first and nagged at me until it was capo’d in the right key and soon the words started to tell a point of view from a particular angle of the story. If this all sounds vague, then read between the lines. For me the rhythm section in this track—Derek Brown and Jason Hiller—played literally the perfect thing on every note.”
LISTEN:
Medium Cool, will be released on LP and CD on February 22. For more music and info visit lutherrussell.com.
Photo credit: Jim Newberry
