Christian Lee Hutson today shared the video for “Get The Old Band Back Together,” which features cameos by Phoebe Bridgers, Conor Oberst, and Sharon Silva. Recorded with guest players Oberst (harmonica), Meg Duffy (of Hand Habits, on electric guitar), Silva (harmonies), Anna Butterss (bass), and Marshall Vore (drums), the warmly wry song that builds to a spirited, choral close is the third single off his forthcoming new album, Beginners, out May 29th, 2020, via ANTI- Records.
“A few years ago I ran into the drummer of a still-together band from my high school, who had just been kicked out. When he told the singer he’d been considering becoming a building inspector, the guy gave him an ultimatum: the band or inspecting buildings. He chose to inspect buildings, a decision that may have been impacted by the fact that the band never played a show or recorded a song. Still, he was pretty bummed about it, and that gave me the idea for this song,” explains Hutson. “I had been wanting to make something with my director friend Michael Tyrone Delaney, who’d had this idea to splice up old talent show footage with footage of me and some friends showcasing some of our own ‘talents.’ My partner, Sharon Silva, showcases her Irish dancing. My childhood hero, Conor Oberst, takes an aggressive, impromptu harmonica solo in the video (and on the recording). My adulthood hero and best friend, Phoebe Bridgers, plays a master of puppets. We shot it in April so everyone had to self tape.”
“Get The Old Band Back Together” is the final advance single from Beginners following “Talk” and “Lose This Number,” which have caught the attention of outlets including Stereogum, The FADER, Uproxx, Paste, Brooklyn Vegan, and more. Last year, the Los Angeles-based Hutson also released standalone single “Northsiders” as an early preview of the album to additional acclaim from The New York Times and Rolling Stone (‘Song You Need To Know’), among others. Beginners is currently available for pre-order.
On Beginners, Hutson embeds every lyric with his most intimate self-dialogue, sharing painful confessions and private jokes, imagined conversations and elaborate daydreams. The album spotlights a nuanced songcraft and understated candor that all but erases the distance between feeling and expression. Throughout this collection of songs, Hutson ultimately speaks an illuminating truth about regret and forgiveness and the endless confusion in growing up.
“I went with Beginners as the title because that’s where I feel like I am in my life—like I’m still just learning and trying to figure out how to navigate the world,” Hutson notes.
Hutson—who also co-wrote a song on the 2018 boygenius EP and two on the 2019 Better Oblivion Community Center LP—and Bridgers recorded Beginners at L.A.’s legendary Sound City Studios, but purposely preserved the homespun quality of his cell-phone-recorded demos. The album mines its subtle textures from Hutson’s warm vocals and graceful guitar work, and also unfolds flashes of sonic brilliance achieved with the help of its guest musicians—including Bridgers herself, as well as Nathaniel Walcott of Bright Eyes (who created all the string arrangements for the album, in addition to playing trumpet).
