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Balladismo

Headless Household

Label: Household Ink Records
Released: 2015
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Personnel

Album Description

balladismo noun bal·lad-is-mo \ˈba-ləd-eez-mo'\ 1. a slow popular song that is typically about love, in an unholy alliance with musical machismo, a newly-coined word. 2. the title of the ninth feature-length album by eccentric American musical outfit Headless Household, released upon the world in the summer of 2015. For album number nine, the hopelessly and mostly happily eclectic band Headless Household (born 1983, in Santa Barbara, Calif.) set out to tighten the stylistic/vibe focus knob and go the ballad route. They partially succeeded, as heard on Balladismo, a collection of tracks with balladism (or “Balladismo”) which settles into an easier, sometimes melancholic place and attitude, but also takes detours. Detouring is the Household way, after all. Following the 25th anniversary double-disc album Basemento (the second in the B-title trilogy, after Blur Joan and preceding Balladismo), the group slowly got in gear for the new album. Once again, the menu ranges from jazz to rock ‘n’ avant-pop ‘n’ waltz/polka turf, free improvisation, Americana and Europeana, and then some. They had the generous help of a Kickstarter clan of patrons this time, but it was a long, nearly two-year process of arriving at a finished product— partly for artistic reasons, and partly because Lackner and pedal steel player Bill Flores were frequently pulled out on the road by their employer/ally/fellow Santa Barbarana Jeff Bridges, in musician mode. As usual, the core charter membered group (keyboarder Dick Dunlap, drummer/engineer Tom Lackner, bassist Chris Symer, guitarist/song-construction- worker Joe Woodard) were joined by a friendly talented posse of guests, many with many years invested as “Honorary Householders.” Trumpeter and singer Nate Birkey (whose own Ballads album, on Household Ink Records, was one inspiration for this project) weighed in on several tracks, including supplying the supple vocal on “Searching.” World-renowned alto sax master Dave Binney returns with some choice soloing, as does veteran tenor saxist Tom Bucker, by now an indispensable voice in the Household sound and one of the best tenor players in the west. In the last few years, the geographical spread of the Headless Household members has become more complicated and multi-locality in nature. Symer has hailed from Seattle for several years, dipping down the coast for shows and recording (bassist David Piltch, of k.d. lang/Joe Henry fame, has been one of the ever-ready bass chair occupants in his absence). In-house violinist Sally Barr has relocated to NYC, home of Birkey and Binney, and longtime HH singer Julie (Leonard Cohen, Divine Horsemen, Van Dyke Parks) Christensen headed out to Nashville, but has lent her beauteous vocal duties on “Lucidity,” the existential torch song “In Wait,” and on the Belgrade-ready dream pop of “Serbian Ladybug.” Glen (Toad the Wet Sprocket, Glen Phillips) Phillips, who has graciously made cameos on Household albums going back to 1993’s Inside/Outside USA, gave vocal warmth and the aptly subdued gusto to the left-of-Americana number “3/4: The Road,” with new Householder Nicole Lvoff wending her way into the mix with harmony vocals. Lvoff also sings on the Sly Stoned neo-soul tune “I Love You, Too” and the closing tune, “My Beautiful Boy.” Visually, longtime Household friend and creative ally Kim Reierson (designer/photographer for many a Household Ink Records project since 1995) weighed in, and beautifully. Balladismo reaffirms Headless Household's reputation as one of America's most identity- challenged and unstoppable musical outfits. Headless Household albums to date, all on the in-house Household Ink Records label: Headless Household (1987), Inside/Outside USA (1993), ITEMS (1995), Free Associations (1999), mockhausen (2000), post-Polka (2003), Blur Joan (2005), Basemento (2010), Balladismo (2015). The wayward adventure continues, heeding the headless impulse. Links: www.householdink.com/headless.htm www.myspace.com/headlesshousehold www.facebook.com/HeadlessHousehold www.youtube.com/MrHeadlessHousehold

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Basemento