Today is a day for Horror, but not the kind you’re thinking of.
Bartees Strange is a generous creative, patient and wise in his approach to making tangible, visceral, personal art in the world of hip-hop, rock, pop, R&B, and everything in between. On his new album, Horror, which is out today, there is immense emotional baggage exposed that doesn’t actually feel as heavy as it could be. There is somehow a buoyant musicality to the hardships delved into, and there are just so many dynamics played with and so many tricks up this artist’s sleeve that we shouldn’t be surprised by the only occasionally enigmatic musical expression he shares with the world. He took his time and made a lyrically and sonically sound LP. “I sat with this record for about three-ish years and I’ve had my relationship with it,” Strange said in conversation. “So I think now it’s time to let it go and see it be something that other people can connect to.”
The tracks that make this album and this era of Bartees Strange are colorful, and as we’re telling you now, sensibly crafted, too. It’s almost hard to believe that there were more than a handful of songs that were made for this that hit the cutting room floor – something that the artist doesn’t find easy, as per our discussion about picking songs for single releases, narrowing down the order of the tracks, and things of the like. Still, Horror, as you can hear it now, is succinct and stellar, evocative in its genre-defying nature and filled with heart. “This feels like the record, and I’m very happy with it,” he says… and we feel just the same.
I’ve been a fan of yours for three or four years now and in your old song “Escape This Circus,” you say, “I’m feeling more grown.” Now, I’ve heard Horror, so I think you’ve grown even more. You’re at such a confident, determined place in your life and in your music, and that is reflected in this set of songs that are being put out into the world. So, do you feel more grown? Do you feel that you’ve come even more into your own with this record, coming off of 2021, 2022, and some of your last releases?
Yeah, I feel like it. I think it’s classic for people to say that you work on your first record your entire life, and then it comes out and you’re just playing stuff that you wrote over the course of your entire existence. My second record was something that I wrote super quickly right after it, just to kind of keep momentum going, really, and to follow it up. I’m lucky that those songs were decent, but this record is one that I wanted to make since forever. I think that I finally had the confidence and the skillset at this point in my life to make it. I don’t think I could have made this album at any other time in my life, even if I knew what I wanted it to sound like. There are so many things that had to culminate and happen in life for me to be able to make this album, so, yeah, I do feel a little bit more sure of myself compared to other records – mostly just because I had so much intention when putting it together.
I love hearing that. Listening to the record, one of the notes that I took is that it’s your most cohesive piece to date, and listening to in order, one can feel your intention. I was listening to it on a device, as one does with a streaming link, but I felt like halfway through I was flipping a record over from an A side to a B side. The way the instrumentation, production, and truths are blended, but also go in their own different directions… it’s mesmerizing. Because this was something that was so intentional for you and the creation, did you spend a lot of time with the order of the tracklist?
Oh, man. Thank you. I appreciate that. You know, I knew the [beginning] and the end]. I knew I wanted “Too Much” to be the first song, and I knew that I wanted “Backseat Banton” to be the last song. I did not know what to do with the rest. There were so many versions of [the tracklist], because there were also songs that I wrote for this record that ended up not being on the record that are incredible. I was just like, “I really want this record to be short. I do not want 50 minutes. I don’t even really want 45 minutes. I want it to be succinct and maximum impact,” so there were many different tracklists to try and accomplish that… like more than 10 tracklists. Eventually I landed on this because I felt like there was an interesting sonic arc. I feel like the first six songs are kind of just crazy; you go from these two, big like Parliament Funkadelic kind of rock songs to like a Fleetwood Mac and Neil Young kind of vibe, and then big Strokes song. “Lovers” being the B side track one, too – I put a lot of thought into it. I really appreciate that you felt like the record was cohesive and that it makes sense.
And I absolutely do. I love that you mentioned some of those sonic influences and sounds because I’m looking at my notes right now and I jotted down during my front-to-back listen of Horror that it feels like Prince, Japanese Breakfast, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, The strokes, and everything people need right now.
That’s so nice [Laughs]. Thank you!
You’re welcome, and by the way, ending not just a song, but an album, on the note of, “the only way up for me is to breakdown,” is beyond prolific. With that being said, how much of the visual aspect of your music and of your branding do you have input in? Because it all comes across as wise and your own.
The visual aspect and like the show production was something that I really wanted to put more attention on this time. I felt like I actually had an idea for how I wanted the character of this album to be like, who I wanted it to be focused on. The record is called Horror and it’s about things that are kind of hard for me to talk about generally, and I felt like it’d be easier for me to talk about it if I was like a dramatized version of myself, so I created this character to deliver the music through, which I like. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do more with my music – to have something like a character that could separate my work from my actual life. I don’t really care to share much about what I’m doing day to day, but I do like sharing and this kind of gives me a vehicle to share more, because I don’t feel like it’s me – I feel like it’s a hyped up version of me, if that makes sense.
That is so interesting. It does make sense. On a song like “Loop Defenders,” it kind of fits that bill of being a body experience, but also great insight into who you are and what you’re facing or has faced. Kind of switching gears a bit in terms of how these songs will be shared on a stage, you’ve got some shows coming up, you got things going on, you’re gonna be putting these songs to work for the crowd. What are you most excited about bringing to life in a live setting? What do you think audiences are really gonna be receptive to? I think “Hit It, Quit It” is a soon-to-be staple in your set, but that’s just me [Laughs].
Yeah, I think it will, too; the song is crazy. I’m excited for all of ’em, though. We just started rehearsing them and really digging into it, and I feel like it takes time for them to kind of develop their own arms and legs and walk on their own. I’m just at the beginning of that, but I’m really excited for the next six months after I’ve played these songs a hundred times to see how they’re gonna feel. I think there are a lot of opportunities for people to latch onto the music. I think the coolest thing about the record is that if you don’t like something, there’s definitely gonna be something there that’s for you, and the way that we do it live… I think it’ll be easier for people to hear and be like, “Oh, there is a place for me in this music.” There’s a lot that I like, so I’m excited to play it.
HORROR, THE NEW ALBUM, IS OUT NOW WHEREVER YOU LISTEN TO MUSIC! TO CATCH BARTEES STRANGE LIVE, INCLUDING NEXT WEEK AT NYC’S BOWERY BALLROOM, CLICK HERE!
