I Also Like This New Song By Mal Blum

Mal Blum in New Brunswick's Boyd Park last September.

"Better Go"

As I sit here at my keyboard and communicate with you over the Interwebs, as I prepare to head out for a weekend of taking pictures at shows and posting them to show you what a great time you're missing, I've been hitting replay on this new video from Mal Blum. I may still be in my pajamas right now. I may not. I think, on some level, we can all identify with the split screen shots of "Room-sitting Face-stuffing Mal" and "Champagne-swilling Social Media-ing Mal."

"Better Go" captures a lot of the warmth and sometimes self-deprecating / sometimes cutting humor that I've witnessed during Mal Blum's live performances. It also features Blum's new, more electrified, indie rock approach. "Better Go" appears on Mal Blum's You Look a Lot Like Me, which is due from Don Giovanni Records on October 2nd.

Screaming Females' Marissa Paternoster produced and does some guest vocaling and guitaring, while Kyle Gilbride of Swearin' handled mixing duties. Gilbride worked on some of my favorite records of the last several years (both Swearin' albums, Waxahatchee's Cerulean Salt and Ivy Tripp, Upset's She's Gone, etc.), and it's a perfect combination for giving Blum's lyrics and hooks a poppy punky world to bounce around in on this track.

Mal Blum starts a tour on October 5th with an album release show at Knitting Factory Brooklyn that also features Adult Mom, Emilyn Brodsky, and Painted Zeros.