Throughout 2020, Malin created and produced the celebrated weekly livestream series The Fine Art of Self Distancing to keep people connected worldwide and dancing on their couches. The majority of Sad and Beautiful World was produced by Malin’s longtime guitarist Derek Cruz and Geoff Sanoff. ![]() Both songs were produced by fellow roots-rock-radical Lucinda Williams, who also sings backup on “Backstabbers,” and her partner, Tom Overby. Written in 2019, the slinky strut of "The Way We Used To Roll” now has an extra layer of meaning. Hearts are broken and hearts are full – sometimes both at once – as on the stark opener "Greener Pastures” or the rebel soul of "Dance With The System," as cool and slick as a black leather jacket.īillie Joe Armstrong once said “New York City is the center of the universe, and there is no New York City without Jesse Malin.” Jesse masterfully sets the scene of his beloved hometown with the autobiographical "Backstabbers," a coming-of-age tune about navigating through the city lights, blood suckers and the arcade-prowling chicken hawks. Everything rose to a boiling point, and we found a way to get through it.”Īt the heart of Sad and Beautiful World lies empathetic character sketches like "Todd Youth," which features Bad Brains' frontman H.R., a lifelong mentor to Jesse with his message of PMA (positive mental attitude), and brings a wistful voice from beyond the grave speaking to loved ones that remain – and "A Little Death," a scathing but ultimately compassionate read on a millennial brat. “The sirens, the protests, riots and the darkness outside my doorstep definitely made its way in these songs. “I took all my anxiety, fear and loneliness and began writing,” described Malin, who made the record in the fall of 2020 at Flux Studios in New York. The album earned a four-star review from Rolling Stone and won three Independent Music Awards. Right before lockdown, Malin was moving fast on the heels of 2019's Sunset Kids with sold out dates in the US and UK. The 17 songs served up here will break your heart, move your hips, and keep the lights shining. All of Sad and Beautiful World is both tough and tender, laced through with vividly drawn characters striving against circumstance and a raw emotional tenor. But not everything is as black and white as the movies. The "Roots Rock” side leans to the sad-eyed ballads, while its companion, the "Radicals" side, roughs things up a bit. Sad and Beautiful World, which takes its title from a line of dialogue in Jim Jarmusch's 1986 cult-classic film Down By Law, divides itself down the middle.Ī lyric in the song “Almost Criminal” gives the split record its theme: Roots Rock Radicals, Malin’s take on a phrase from the intersection of punk and reggae back in the day. Forged in the wild flames of the lost pandemic year, the album follows Sunset Kids (2019), Malin’s acclaimed album produced by Lucinda Williams and Tom Overby.ĭescribed by Uncut magazine as a “fearless storyteller,” followers have always appreciated the many sides of Malin, from his pioneer days in the hardcore band Heart Attack to D Generation and his solo career. ![]() The phoenix bird could be the spiritual mascot of Sad and Beautiful World, out September 24 on Wicked Cool Records. The first double album of Malin’s career hits like a collection of heartfelt and eloquent short stories that never lose their dirt and swagger. ![]() This record is for those who pick up the pieces and find beauty in the madness.” ![]() “My music has always been about rebirth and redemption. Contact: and Beautiful World is for the survivors, the dreamers, the leavers and the believers,” said Jesse Malin.
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