“In Haven” by Dick Stusso

Dick Stusso, will be hitting the road for a run of dates with Sub Pop’s Jo Passed, as well as a solo acoustic set opening for Angel Olsen at the Masonic Temple in Asheville, North Carolina. Recently, Stusso shared the video for “In Heaven,” the title track from his recent Hardly Art debut. Filmed on 16mm, the winking, laconic video from director Sarah Strunin takes its inspiration from vintage Leonard Cohen and Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazelwood clips. “In Heaven” is the title-track od Stusso’s current release, now out on Hardly Art.

Dick Stusso on ‘In Heaven’ LP”

“I was about 75% done with the album and then my apartment got burgled,” Stusso said of In Heaven’s bummer origins. “They took it all.” Having laid it almost exclusively to tape, there weren’t even files to pull from. But what seemed like another sour turn for Dick actually ended up being a little lemon zest in his G&T. He ended up teaming with psych visionary producer Greg Ashley in a defunct old church, making for a leap in fidelity on In Heaven.

The new peacock strut to Dick’s vague longing and malaise suits his countrified T. Rex sound quite well. Exhibit A: album standout “Modern Music,” a sort of State of the Union and State of the Soul all set over a warm, gauzy glam bass line. “Nobody wants to look at the dark heart, I don’t blame you/Nobody wants to look at the dark heart, myself included,” he sings a low-register Orbison sneer. “I’m just looking for a good time and a little cash-uh.” Employing deft songcraft, which includes a wide open ambient midsection to really get you thinking about The Void, Dick manages to take down both capitalism and the bullshit conditions of human mortality without sounding all that put out by either.

Dick Stusso
In Heaven
LP/CD/digital/cassette

01. Well Acquainted
02. The Bullshit Century Pt. 1
03. Up the Stream
04. Modern Music
05. Addendum
06. Phasing Out
07. Getting Loose
08. Terror Management
09. The Big Car Commercial Payout
10. In Heaven

TOUR DATES:

06.05.18 – Asheville, NC – Masonic Temple *
06.06.18 – Washington, DC – DC9 ^
06.07.18 – Philadelphia, PA – Boot & Saddle ^
06.08.18 – Brooklyn, NY – Park Church Co-Op ^
06.09.18 – Allston, MA – Great Scott ^
06.10.18 – Providence, RI – Fete Music Hall ^
06.11.18 – Montreal, QC – Bar le Ritz ^
06.12.18 – Ottowa, CA – Makerspace North ^
06.13.18 – Detroit, MI – Marble Bar ^
06.14.18 – Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups ^
06.16.18 – Chicago, IL – Sleeping Village ^
08.10.18 – 08.12.18 – San Francisco, CA – Outside Lands Festival

* – w/ Angel Olsen
^ – w/ Jo Passed

Advertisement

Looking for something new to listen to?

Sign up to our all-new newsletter for top-notch reviews, news, videos and playlists.