Congratulations to me! Salon de la Guerre’s 41st album drops this week.
The album is called Resting Horse Face, and it’s now available for purchase or streaming on all the major music services, including Apple Music, Amazon, Pandora, Spotify, YouTube and Bandcamp. As always, I’m selling this album exclusively in a digital format.
Like most (decent) people, I’ve been unhappy with the political situation in the United States in the last few months and the confluence of hatred, ignorance, greed, superstition and stupidity that has taken hold in the halls of American power. I’ve tried to compartmentalize my despair and turn my feelings into art as much as possible. Given that I’m pretty prolific anyway, it’s likely a lot of my music is going to hit the airwaves in the next few months. The good news is that I never seem to run out of ideas.
The other reason I churned out new music is that I hit a few snags releasing my latest novel, and I needed to stop and take a breather by doing something else.
I describe the new album this way on my music site: “It’s an eclectic collection of electronic and guitar-driven pop songs on futurism, compulsive behavior, nostalgia, frustrated romance and frustrated cult leaders. The lyrics feature a rogue’s gallery of half-talented manipulators and smoothies.”
My last couple of albums were focused on my piano and punk guitar playing. Most of Resting Horse Face, by contrast, was composed on my Logic Pro X software, and this project was more about showing off my composing and arranging talents. First I make the music, then I usually try to find lyrics and a singing style that fit the cinematic quality of the music. I never know if the music I’ve created is going to be right for the sweet spot in my voice, so it’s always a bit of a surprise to me when I start singing; only then do I know if this set of songs is going to rock or suck.
This time out, somehow my voice really worked with the material without sounding too reedy or deadpan. That’s either a testament to how much my singing has improved … or sheer luck. Don’t hold your breath for next time, though.
As always, the album, was written, recorded and produced by yours truly at my home studio over the December 2024 and January 2025. I hope you like the results.
And I promise: My novel is around the corner.
Enjoy the first tune off Resting Horse Face here:
Beauty is Imperfection 