Whitmer Thomas Announces New Jay Som-Produced Album
The new album will be released on October 21.
By: Michael Major Aug. 03, 2022
Whitmer Thomas announces his new album, The Older I Get The Funnier I Was, out October 21st on Hardly Art, with a video for its raucous lead single "Rigamarole." The track features contributions from the album's producer Melina Duterte (Jay Som), Al Menne (Great Grandpa), Christian Lee Hutson, and Harrison Whitford (Phoebe Bridgers).
"Rigamarole is a song about trying to shake depression with routine, and ultimately accepting I've got no choice but to sink into it," says Thomas. "If I try to just live with it, like a roommate who's constantly trying to give me a regrettable haircut, it helps me see the light at the end of the tunnel."
Thomas has also announced a fall North American tour with Al Menne, tickets go on sale on Fri, Aug 5 at 10:00 am local time.
The Older I Get the Funnier I Was, which follows Thomas' brilliant 2020 HBO special The Golden One and his Can't Believe You're Happy Here EP released earlier this year, surveys a range of emotion and offers a broad sonic palette, moving between pop punk, electro, and the obvious influence of the singer-songwriters he grew up listening to in early childhood. It conjures the ennui of Bright Eyes alongside the barefaced storytelling of John Prine, the overstuffed lists of Fred Thomas with the lackadaisical humor of Colleen Green, among many others.
Thomas attributes the dexterity of the record to Duterte, who recorded and engineered most of it in addition to serving up plenty of encouragement when Thomas got down on the process. "As a comic, I used to test out new songs during sets to see if the funny bits were hitting, but since I wrote this in isolation I ended up writing lyrics and worrying less about making jokes," Thomas says.
That said, the album's plenty funny. Stand-out and lead single "Rigamarole" opens with a Thomas-voiced infomercial that recalls his oft-cited lookalike Jim Carrey as the Grinch, before launching into a buoyant pop song about being depressed.
Listen to the new single here:
TOUR DATES with Al Menne
10/24 - Oakland, CA @ Starline Social Club
10/25 - Arcata, CA @ The Miniplex
10/27 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
10/28 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos
10/29 - Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
11/2 - St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
11/3 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
11/4 - Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
11/5 - Toronto, ON @ The Drake Hollywood
11/6 - Montreal, QC @ Bar Le 'Ritz' P.D.B.
11/8 - Allston, MA @ O'Briens Pub
11/9 - Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere
11/11 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's
11/12 - Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
11/14 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
11/15 - Birmingham, AL @ Avondale Brewery
11/16 - New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa
11/18 - Austin, TX @ The Ballroom
11/19 - Dallas, TX @ Three Links
12/3 - Los Angeles, CA @ Highland Park Ebell Club
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