The Goodbye Party AKA: Michael Cantor, recently released “No Reason,” the latest single off his forthcoming release Beautiful Motors, out October 9, via Double Double Whammy (Lvl Up, Told Slant).

From Michael Cantor:

“This song deals with a couple of themes. One is how people you no longer keep in your life can show up in some of your favorite memories. It’s also about the experience of passing through the same place across different tours and seeing decay creep along, seeing cascading effects from hurricanes, and recognizing that slow change in yourself. My friend Emi Knight from Strawberry Runners sings on this song. She, along with a handful of local songwriters, held monthly salons where we would demo and critique each other’s songs. Having that space helped me focus, write, and rewrite songs for this record.”

Beautiful Motors was recorded with Kyle Gilbride of Swearin’ at Wherever Audio, Beautiful Motors features a slew of notable Philadelphia musicians including Gilbride, Sam Cook-Parrott (Radiator Hospital), Maryn Jones (Yowler), Joey Doubek (Pinkwash, Speedy Ortiz), Emi Knight (Strawberry Runners), and pedal steel guitarist Zena Kay.

The album was composed between 2016 and 2018, and is more of a more of a rock album, than previous releases, from the artist. “I could’ve made a record of long, droning, sad songs, but I challenged myself to keep things more energetic.” This collision of bereavement and sanguine sound is exactly what we all need right now, as we continue to navigate our way through an unprecedented global crisis. “People want to have fun when they see live music, back when there was live music,” says Cantor, adding that he hopes Beautiful Motors offer space for listeners to deal with grief in a way that feels upbeat yet genuine.

Cantor’s main goal with Beautiful Motors is to create a connection with listeners by putting his usual tricks aside and creating more tangible spaces. He cites the off-the-wall metaphors of Richard Brautigan, poetry of Dylan Thomas, natural observations of Mary Oliver, and writing exercises of Lynda Barry as lyrical inspirations. Musically, Frank Ocean’s Blonde and Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot served as main recording references: “Both of those records have strong pop songwriting, but also have a layer of decay, distortion… Things are kind of falling apart on all sides.” Cantor reimagines this corrosion through an undercurrent of tape hiss, bowed guitar strings, and other experimental sounds of brokenness.

The Goodbye Party
Beautiful Motors
Double Double Whammy

1. Falling
2. Unlucky Stars
3. No Reason
4. Storms
5. Trouble
6. End of the Line
7. December Boys
8. Rust
9. Lost
10. Voice Like A Harp
11. Snow

Pre-Order Beautiful Motors here