Chris Farren Shares Jay Som-Produced Single 'Bluish'
His new album will be released on August 4.
By: Michael Major Jun. 08, 2023
Beloved and prolific songwriter Chris Farren recently announced his new Jay Som-produced album, Doom Singer, to early praise from the likes of NPR Music, Billboard, Stereogum, Paste and more.
Today, following lead single “Cosmic Leash,” Farren shares the album’s opening track “Bluish.”
“I don’t remember how to do this,” Farren croons, admitting to feeling codependent in his marriage, worried he is too much to manage, that his neuroses might disrupt a delicate domestic balance. It was the first song he wrote for the album and the one that determined its narrative course. We’re made to believe aging makes you wiser, but as Farren has grown into the prodigious songwriter you hear on Doom Singer, he’s only grown less certain.
“I’m constantly processing the way I feel about things, and I didn’t want any of these songs to sound sure of themselves, or to communicate any clear message,” he says.
Check out the song and its video now, of which Farren explains "For this video I stood in front of a green screen while my wife blasted me with a leaf blower for 5 minutes. I was inspired by a short animated film I saw on the Criterion Channel (I’m smart) called “Asparagus” by an amazing visual artist named Suzan Pitt.”
Chris Farren is hitting the road this Fall, with dates in the UK and throughout North America. See below to find a show near you, and get your tickets HERE.
Farren made his name recording with Jeff Rosenstock in Antarctigo Vespucci and now-defunct Floridian punk band Fake Problems, but all work under his own name has been created by Farren in self-described “miserable” isolation…until now.
Doom Singer was produced, engineered and mixed by multi-instrumentalist/producer, and Jay Som mastermind Melina Duterte (who also performs on the record) in her Atwater Village studio. It was also written entirely with live drummer Frankie Impastato, and features Rosenstock on the occasional bass and saxophone.
“Looking back on those records… I have no good memories of making them,” Farren says of his previous solo output. “It’s always been a lonely, doubt-ridden process.” This new, collaborative method breathes new life into Farren’s songs, which are huge, cathartic, catchy as hell, and inspired by what Farren describes as the “sixties-tinged girl group vibe.”
And the result is as genuine, empathetic, and of course, funny, as Farren is, and though he claims nihilistic tendencies, it’s the dogged optimism that shines through.
Tour Dates
08/29 - Bristol, UK @ Exchange
08/30 - Manchester, UK @ Yes Pink Room
08/31 - Glasgow, UK @ Hug & Pint
09/01 - Leeds, UK @ Hyde Park Book Club
09/02 - London, UK @ The Lexington
09/03 - Newport, UK @ Le Pub
09/04 - Oxford, UK @ Port Mahon
09/05 - Brighton, UK @ Hope & Ruin
09/09 - Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere: Zone One #
09/10 - Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA #
09/11 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd #
09/12 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle - Back Room #
09/13 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade - Purgatory #
09/15 - Orlando, FL @ Wills Pub #
09/16 - Tampa, FL @ Hooch and Hive #
09/19 - Austin, TX @ The Ballroom #
09/20 - Dallas, TX @ Club Dada #
09/22 - Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar #
09/23 - San Diego, CA @ HOB Voodoo Room #
09/25 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Cid (late show) $
09/27 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill $
09/29 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios $
09/30 - Seattle, WA @ The Vera Project $
10/02 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court $
10/04 - Denver, CO @ Globe Hall $
10/06 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry $
10/07 - Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen %
10/08 - Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups %
10/10 - Hamtramck, MI @ Sanctuary %
10/11 - Cleveland, OH @ Mahall's %
10/12 - Toronto, ON @ The Monarch %
10/15 - Boston, MA @ Crystal Ballroom %
# w/ Diners
$ w/ GUPPY
% w/ Mo Troper
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