World of Hassle
| World of Hassle | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 15, 2023 | |||
| Genre | Experimental pop, jazz-funk | |||
| Length | 48:26 | |||
| Language |
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| Label | Mom + Pop | |||
| Producer | Alan Palomo | |||
| Alan Palomo chronology | ||||
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| Singles from World of Hassle | ||||
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World of Hassle is a solo album by Alan Palomo, better known for his work under the alias Neon Indian. The album, Palomo's first release under his birth name, was released on September 15, 2023, by Mom + Pop Music.
Robert Beatty acted as the album's art director. The album includes contributions from Palomo's brother Jorge Manuel, Flore Benguigui, and Mac DeMarco. Palomo sang in English, Spanish, and French on the album. It was preceded by four singles.
The album was inspired by 1980s-era Leonard Cohen and various rock frontmen of the time who had left their bands for solo careers. The music consists of experimental pop and jazz-funk, and was inspired primarily by city pop and the music of Bobby Caldwell. It was received positively by critics.
Background
[edit]Palomo started releasing music as Neon Indian in 2009 at age 21, his third musical alias after launching the projects Ghosthustler and Vega.[1] On July 27, 2023, a few days after his 35th birthday, Palomo explained his reasoning for releasing World of Hassle under his real name, saying he was inspired by I'm Your Man-era Leonard Cohen and multiple 1980s rock frontmen who had left their bands and reinvented themselves as solo acts.[2] He called the idea "impish" and "refreshing", and said that despite the loss of name recognition, he couldn't resist the idea and figured that "50 year old me might thank me for it in the long run".[2] He also emphasized that the Neon Indian name wasn't being "officially retired".[2]
In an interview for Tone Glow, Palomo elaborated on Cohen's influence, saying:
And one big thing that was on my mind was that for some reason I'd missed–I mean I'd listened to Leonard Cohen in college but I'd never heard his later '80s stuff–I just ran across I'm Your Man. That whole album and just him in the black suit, total Jewish zaddy vibes, grown-ass man. And he's discovered his sense of humor or at least finally showcasing it. Everyone's like "dude since when are you funny?" and he's like "I've always been funny, I just never put it in my music." That was so liberating. The lyrics are so smart but they're also so ham-and-cheese and really lean into the self-parody aspect of it.[3]
If I was to do the '80s sophisti-pop, male frontman rock cliché, "I'm quitting my band and making a jazz record!"–if I was to do it, I also had to make fun of it. So that was kinda where that came from, but also with Neon Indian, you hear the production, they're very textural records–I kept asking myself, "Well they know you can do that, what have they not heard you do yet?" And I realized it was really putting your vocals in the front and center, not hiding behind any reverb or distortion. I know the real fans will go on Genius, they'll buy the record, they'll look at the lyrics. But a lot of the time, nobody really understands what I'm saying on those records. This one it's like "dude let's just throw it on the forefront", especially in the era of lyric videos. Don't hide behind it, if that's gonna be you up front, what do you have to say? And the answer nine times out of ten is jokes, that's just how I communicate with my friends. So that was just something where, if it was going to be more of an Alan Palomo record, and be more personal in that regard, the humor had to be there by design. And the Leonard Cohen realization allowed me to do that.[3]
The album is Palomo's first work of his own under his birth name,[4] though he previously used the name when featuring on the Miami Horror song "Holidays" from their 2010 album Illumination.[5] The album name came from a quote from the Thomas Pynchon novel Inherent Vice.[6][7]
Release
[edit]Prior to the album's announcement, Palomo released its lead single, "Nudista Mundial '89", on May 1.[8] The song features indie rock singer-songwriter Mac DeMarco, who was brought on board because he had a Yamaha CP-70 which Palomo wanted for the song.[8][9] The single came with a music video inspired by the video game series Leisure Suit Larry.[8]
The album was announced on June 6, set for release on September 15, 2023, by Mom + Pop Music.[4] Along with the announcement came its second single, "Stay-at-Home DJ", which Palomo cowrote with his brother in 2019 and previously performed on tour as Neon Indian.[4] The single came with a music video directed by Robert Beatty, who is also the album's art director.[4] The third single, "Meutrière" featuring L'Impératrice singer Flore Benguigui, was released on July 11, 2023.[10] "Club People" and "La Madrileña" were released together on August 8.[11]
Style and influences
[edit]The album has been called experimental pop[12] and jazz-funk.[13] It is also said to include disco,[14] R&B,[14] yacht rock,[14][15] city pop,[14][9][15] synthwave,[9] reggae,[14] Italo disco,[14][9] and funk.[15] The album is built on a core instrumental lineup of guitar, bass, synthesizer, and saxophone.[15] Lyrics on the album are written in English, Spanish, and French;[14][9] the Spanish lyrics were inspired by contemporary Mexican novelists including Fernanda Melchor and Yuri Herrera.[16]
Palomo's inspiration for the record came from listening to Bobby Caldwell and city pop records, namely Awakening by Hiroshi Sato, and decided he wanted to incorporate their fusion of Steely Dan-esque jazz fusion with disco.[3] He also described the sound he was striving for as "Thomas Dolby-type Fairlight PPG-style production" recreated with a Yamaha TG33.[17] During the making of the album, Palomo mainly read the Thomas McGuane novels Panama and 92 in the Shade and the Jay McInerney novels Bright Lights, Big City and Brightness Falls, and also watched the film adaptation of Bright Lights, Big City starring Michael J. Fox.[7]
Reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Clash | 7/10[18] |
| Paste | 8.5/10[14] |
| Pitchfork | 7.6/10[19] |
| Under the Radar |    [15] |
Glide Magazine's Ryan Dillon called the album "an endlessly fun LP that takes you on a cosmic journey through Palomo's limitless artistry."[12] Paste's Sam Rosenberg wrote that the album "does, sometimes, feel a touch pastiche-y", but "Palomo's sun-soaked, salt-rimmed, neon-tinged world has such an immersive, hypnotic pull that its more derivative tendencies don't really matter."[14] Everything Is Noise's David Rodriguez called the album "without a single doubt one of the best I'll hear this year."[20]
Joshua Minsoo Kim of Pitchfork called the tracks "the funniest and most musically accomplished songs of his career", as well as Palomo's "most fun record because it's his most accomplished".[19] Clash's Nick Roseblade called the album "pretty fun" with "some killer melodies", but was disappointed by the lack of diversity between songs which are "of a similar tempo, tone, and theme."[18] Under the Radar's Andy Steiner called the album "leisurely and confident" and "as easy as a beach day."[15]
Paste ranked the album as one of the 30 best pop albums of 2023.[21]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written by Alan Palomo with others noted below. All tracks produced by Palomo.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Wailing Mall" | Ian Wilson Cronin | 5:08 |
| 2. | "Meutrière" (featuring Flore Benguigui) |
| 3:34 |
| 3. | "La Madrileña" | 3:50 | |
| 4. | "Nudista Mundial '89" (featuring Mac DeMarco) | DeMarco | 3:04 |
| 5. | "The Return of Mickey Milan" | 4:06 | |
| 6. | "Stay-at-Home DJ" | Jorge Manuel Palomo | 3:47 |
| 7. | "Club People" |
| 4:23 |
| 8. | "Alibi for Petra" | 2:01 | |
| 9. | "Nobody's Woman" |
| 4:18 |
| 10. | "Is There Nightlife After Death?" |
| 3:14 |
| 11. | "Big Night of Heartache" |
| 4:09 |
| 12. | "The Island Years" | 4:43 | |
| 13. | "Trouble in Mind" | 2:09 | |
| Total length: | 48:26 | ||
Personnel
[edit]- Alan Palomo – vocals, synthesizers, drum programming
- Mac DeMarco – vocals, vocal engineering (4, 7)
- Claudius Mittendorfer – mixing engineer (1–5, 7–12)
- Jorge Manuel Palomo – mixing engineer (6, 13)
- Heba Kadry – mastering engineer
- Robert Beatty – art director
References
[edit]- ^ Dombal, Ryan (August 14, 2009). "Rising: Neon Indian". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
- ^ a b c Rettig, James (July 27, 2023). "Alan Palomo Explains Why He's Not Going By Neon Indian Anymore". Stereogum. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
- ^ a b c Schoop, Eli (September 8, 2023). "Tune Glue 018: Alan Palomo (fka Neon Indian)". Tone Glow. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Minsker, Evan (June 6, 2023). "Neon Indian's Alan Palomo Announces Debut Solo Album, Shares New Song". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
- ^ Fantano, Anthony (September 28, 2010). "Miami Horror: For When Sophistication Gets Old". NPR Music. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
- ^ Schube, Will (September 25, 2023). "Alan Palomo on Embracing a Tried-and-True '80s Rock Frontman Cliché with World of Hassle". Flood. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
- ^ a b Dillon, Ryan (September 26, 2023). "Life After Neon Indian: Alan Palomo Talks Creative Rebirth & Vibrant New Album World of Hassle". Glide Magazine. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
- ^ a b c Strauss, Matthew (May 1, 2023). "Neon Indian's Alan Palomo and Mac DeMarco Share Video for New Song". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Exposito, Suzy (September 26, 2023). "Alan Palomo shelves Neon Indian name, mines the 1980s in new album". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
- ^ Rettig, James (July 11, 2023). "Alan Palomo – "Meutrière" (feat. Flore Benguigui)". Stereogum. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
- ^ DeVille, Chris (August 8, 2023). "Alan Palomo – "Club People" & "La Madrileña"". Stereogum. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
- ^ a b Dillon, Ryan (September 13, 2023). "Alan Palomo Drops Neon Indian for 13 Catchy AF Synth-Drenched Anthems on World of Hassle". Glide Magazine. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
- ^ Minsker, Evan; Monroe, Jazz (September 15, 2023). "9 New Albums You Should Listen to Now: Mitski, Alan Palomo, Tomb Mold, and More". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Rosenberg, Sam (September 15, 2023). "Alan Palomo Invites Us Into His Dazzling World of Hassle". Paste. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Steiner, Andy (October 11, 2023). "Alan Palomo: World of Hassle (Mom + Pop)". Under the Radar. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
- ^ Chang, Ailsa (September 15, 2023). "Musician Alan Palomo on World of Hassle and his love for synth". NPR. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
- ^ Fitzmaurice, Larry (September 21, 2023). "Alan Palomo on Humor, Filmmaking, the Music Industry, and Looking Back at Looking Back". Last Donut of the Night. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
- ^ a b Roseblade, Nick (September 25, 2023). "Alan Palomo – World of Hassle". Clash. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
- ^ a b Kim, Joshua Minsoo (September 22, 2023). "Alan Palomo: World of Hassle Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- ^ Rodriguez, David (September 28, 2023). "Alan Palomo – World of Hassle". Everything Is Noise. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
- ^ Rosenberg, Sam (December 27, 2023). "The 30 Best Pop Albums of 2023". Paste. Retrieved February 9, 2024.