a Juliana Hatfield fan site
Juliana's official site has had a makeover in time for the new album.
Among the updates there, you can now view the lyrics for Pussycat (archived), or you can wait for the music. You will not be judged whichever you choose.
In addition to the previously announced pre-orders for various physical formats at American Laundromat Records, Pussycat is now listed at iTunes, where the track Wonder Why is available immediately.
Also, with shipping costs in mind, Europeans may wish to note that the vinyl version is available from UK distributor Cargo Records.
American Laundromat Records on Instagram:
The new album details are here!
It's called Pussycat and is due for release on April 21, 2017 now April 28, 2017.
“I wasn’t planning on making a record,” says Juliana Hatfield, of her new “Pussycat” album. In fact, she thought her songwriting career was on hiatus, and that she had nothing left to say in song form; that she had finally said it all after two decades as a recording artist.
But then the presidential election happened. “All of these songs just started pouring out of me. And I felt an urgency to record them, to get them down, and get them out there.” She booked some time at Q Division studios in Somerville, Massachusetts near her home in Cambridge and went in with a drummer (Pete Caldes), an engineer (Pat DiCenso) and fourteen brand-new songs. Hatfield produced and played every instrument other than drums—bass, keyboards, guitars, vocals. From start to finish—recording through mixing—the whole thing took a total of just twelve and a half days to complete.
“It was a blur. It was cathartic,” says Hatfield. “I almost don’t even understand what happened in there, or how it came together so smoothly, so quickly. I was there, directing it all, managing it, getting it all done, but I was being swept along by some force that was driving me. The songs had a will, they forced themselves on me, or out of me, and I did what they told me to do. Even my hands—it felt like they were not my hands. I played bass differently-- looser, more confident, better.”
“Pussycat” comes on the heels of last year’s Hatfield collaboration with Paul Westerberg, the I Don’t Cares’ “Wild Stab” album, and before that, 2015’s Juliana Hatfield Three (“My Sister”, “Spin The Bottle”) reunion/reformation album, “Whatever, My Love”.
“I’ve always been prolific and productive and I have a good solid work ethic but this one happened so fast, I didn’t have time to think or plan,” says Hatfield. “I just went with it, rode the wave. And now it is out of my hands. It feels a little scary.”
”Pussycat” is being released into a very tense, divided and inflamed America. The songs are reflective of that atmosphere—angry (“When You’re A Star”), defiant (“Touch You Again”), disgusted (“Rhinoceros”), but also funny (“Short-Fingered Man”), reflective (“Wonder Why”), righteous (“Heartless”) and even hopeful (“Impossible Song”, with its chorus of ‘What if we tried to get along/and sing an impossible song’).
Orders are being taken now for Vinyl, CD and Cassette(!) at American Laundromat Records: alr-music.com/collections/catalog/products/juliana-hatfield-pussycat.
April 21 Newport, RI - The Café at Parlor
April 22 New Haven, CT - Cafe Nine
April 23 Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair
April 24 Philadelphia, PA – Boot & Saddle
April 25 Vienna, VA – Jammin Java
April 26 NYC, NY – Mercury Lounge
April 27 NYC, NY - Mercury Lounge
April 29 Lakewood, OH - Mahall's
April 30 Columbus, OH - Ace of Cups
May 1 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
This page will update if any further shows are announced.
Announced on Instagram:
The artwork for the soon to be released Earwig Demos as revealed in the latest Blake Babies PledgeMusic Update. Design by Jeremy Fetzer.
The Blake Babies Earwig Demos project has reached the 100% goal over at PledgeMusic.
There's still a couple of months to get involved:
Blake Babies have launched their PledgeMusic project today (archived)!
John, Freda & Juliana:
In early March of 1988, we entered Fort Apache Studios in Cambridge, MA to capture our live set in a studio setting. We recorded 12 demos of songs for what would become our debut full length on Mammoth, Earwig. The master tapes from those sessions have been sitting on a few basement shelves since then and pretty much were forgotten about.
In 2015, we rescued the recordings and had the tapes remixed and remastered. And to our surprise, the demos turned out sounding better than anyone remembered.
They sounded so good that we had to do something special with them for you, the fans! We’re happy to announce that the Earwig Demos will finally be heard as intended, on vinyl ONLY here on PledgeMusic. While in our archives, we found some other unique and rare items to add to the pre-order. We hope you find something you will like.
There are vinyl, FLAC and MP3 ordering options plus other PledgeMusic exclusives.
3 private reunion shows are planned in the US - 2 in Boston, MA (on the same day) and 1 in Evanston, IL. Tickets for these limited shows are available (via PledgeMusic). Other than the possiblity of up to 3 extra acoustic house concerts available for $20,000 (!) each, the band "do not have any touring plans".
Exciting!
Whatever, My Love - the 2nd (or sophomore as those funny Americans like call it) album by The Juliana Hatfield Three from 2015 is being reissued on vinyl via a 2nd (sophomore) pressing.
Availability is estimated for August, 2016.
Fans of the long player who missed out first time round can now pre-order at American Laundromat, or via Cargo Records in the UK.
New album day!
Wild Stab is out now for download and streaming in most territories. There's a CD version available for order in the usual places too.
This is the debut album by The I Don't Cares - Juliana's collaboration with Paul Westerberg of the Replacements.
The Current has a brief review including this passage:
A lot of that contentedness seems to be the result of his new partnership with Juliana Hatfield, who makes up the other half of his new project the I Don’t Cares. Many of the songs on their new album, Wild Stab, could be classified as love songs, with titles like “Kissing Break,” Hands Together,” and “Love Out Loud.” And try as they might to prove to the listener that they didn’t put much thought into this project — the vibe is muddy and slapdash, and much of it sounds like it was pieced together from ramshackle of basement recordings — it’s pretty clear that Westerberg and Hatfield do care about this project, perhaps more than they’ve cared about any of their endeavors in quite some time.
More article and review links to follow when and if they appear.
There's been almost no promotion for this release, which is a little odd given Paul's cult status in indieland.
His fans on the Men Without Ties forum are approving on first listen. No surprise there, as it feels like there's more Westerberg on here than Hatfield, certainly on the vocal mix and guitar themes.
If you're hoping for a sharing of styles in the manner of the Dando / Hatfield shows or the Minor Alps project you might want to readjust your expectations!
There's still a lot to enjoy about this record.
The I Don't Cares (the new band featuring Juliana and The Replacements' Paul Westerberg) have released a new single.
Featuring Westerberg on lead vocal, King Of America is the 2nd track to be revealed from their forthcoming debut album Wild Stab.
So far it's only available from iTunes. (US and UK links).
Also, Amazon (US and UK) are taking pre-orders for the digital album (with a subject to change January 22, 2016 release date).
The tracklist:
The artwork:
It's all eBay news round here.
American Laundromat Records are auctioning a test pressing of the forthcoming vinyl version of the Juliana Hatfield Three LP:
Only four "Whatever, My Love" test pressings were cut. We gave one to our mastering engineer and kept one for our archive. This is one of two we're offering on eBay to the highest bidder. Ships in it's white paper sleeve. Good luck!!!
Bidding ends tomorrow (July 8) with shipping estimated for next week.
Regular orders for the LP are not due to ship until November 2015 (delayed from the original plan of August).
In case you've missed the announcements elsewhere, John P Strohm is currently going through the Blake Babies archives with a view to a reissue / rarity project via PledgeMusic in the future. There's been some interesting teasers of what might be to come on the Blake Babies Facebook page of late.
It's impossible for a band to announce an album any more without a deluge of pleas for vinyl. I mean, look at the responses to this tweet by Wolf Alice yesterday about iTunes pre-orders for their debut album.
So then, in response to similar demand, American Laundromat Records are now taking orders for JH3's Whatever, My Love on LP, with a choice of colours. Shipping is estimated for August 2015 and there's an as yet unspecified bonus track involved.
Update March 22 The release date is August 17, 2015 and the bonus track is Only In The Dark - previously heard as a home demo during the 2013 PledgeMusic campaign for Wild Animals.
Important to note that ALR say pressing will be limited to these pre-orders.
Update June 8 The release date has been put back to 'early November, 2015' due to the processing plant running over capacity.
The new Juliana Hatfield Three album is now available to stream for Spotify users.
As previously announced it is available on CD from American Laundromat Records and on download from iTunes.
There may be other formats to come:
Today!
Whatever, My Love - the new album from The Juliana Hatfield Three - the kind of follow up to 1993's Become What You Are - is released today on American Laundromat Records.
If you weren't part of the PledgeMusic gang who received the album last week you should be able to find it from your retailer of choice, direct from American Laundromat and as a download on your iTunes in most territories.
American Laundromat are currently streaming the whole thing too.
The Boston Globe have reviewed the record today, not altogether favourably.
And, because we're all 2015 now, here's a video review by The Daily Guru:
There will be a liveontomorrow.co.uk review ™ in due course, but not just yet. I want to give it several more listens.
From Juliana's official site:
Juliana’s 2011 14-song album “There’s Always Another Girl” is about to be back in stock! You can pre-order it here now for the bargain price of $8.00, plus shipping/handling. Please note that there are separate shipping/handling prices and “buy-now” buttons for North American and overseas orders.
Pre-orders: julianahatfield.com/taag.htm
Related: this site's track by track review from 2011.
The forthcoming album from the reunited Juliana Hatfield Three will be titled Whatever, My Love.
Loving the deference to the 1993 artwork.
We have a scheduled release date of February 17, 2015.
Perhaps a little unexpectedly (given Juliana's run of solo self-released albums), the band are signed to American Laundromat Records, who now have the album listed:
The twelve songs on "Whatever, My Love" are unsentimental, funny, and honest. Hatfield, humble as always, acknowledges that, "We haven’t totally reinvented the wheel or anything" with this new album and that the recordings exhibit "stuff I am sort of known for, I guess": a guitar-centric melodicism, and lyrical examinations of emotional confusion. "But I am a lot more confident now than I was then with the first album. And I had more fun recording this one."
Hatfield’s songs’ subjects still don’t know why people are the way they are. But the music is fresh and inspired, gorgeous and punk, sleazy and sweet; fully present and alive. With their new album, the Juliana Hatfield Three has in a sense responded to its former directive to "become what you are" by making an album that is exactly what it wants to be, identifiable in its acceptance--and celebration--of the unknowable and unsolvable.
American Laundromat are now taking pre-orders which include bundle options for buttons, a decal and a t-shirt.
The shirt is a different design to that offered by Juliana through PledgeMusic and is available unbundled from the CD for $24 plus postage.
The tracklist:
A sad face emoji for the moment you realise that Blame The Stylist and Wood appear to be the only previously unheard songs here.
The following have been heard in some form before:
1,2,3,5,7 - first released during Juliana's Download Experiment in 2004-2005
4 - from Sittin' In A Tree..., a 2007 EP recorded with Frank Smith
6,8,12 - from Wild Animals, a 2013 solo acoustic album
10 - from Get There, a 2013 Minor Alps Album
They are all new recordings though and let's not forget that the involvement of Tom Beaujour in the studio with Minor Alps helped transform June 6th to Away Again last year.
Also, February isn't far off now is it? Good times ahead.