Several months ago, we introduced you to a NYC-based music collective known as Gramercy Arms . Finally the band will come around (on Friday of this week to be exact) to release their much-anticipated third album ‘Deleted Scenes’ and we have the pleasure to offer you an advance peek / listen to the goodness they have on offer.
Gramercy Arms is a revolving collective, masterminded by Dave Derby (The Dambuilders, Lloyd Cole). Inspired by the artistic heyday of ‘70s and ‘80s-era New York City, they make addictive indie pop – exquisite hook-laden melodies filled with lyrics that will have you floating back in time, remembering your favorite mistake.
Produced, recorded and mixed by Ray Ketchem (Guided By Voices, Luna, Elk City) atMagic Door Recording in Montclair, NJ and released via the Magic Door Record Label, this album was mastered by award-winning engineer Greg Calbi (John Lennon, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, Tom Petty, Todd Rundgren).
Earlier, Gramercy Arms teased the singles ‘Yesterday’s Girl’ (plus an acoustic version), Derby co-penned by Derby and music legend Lloyd Cole and performed as a duet with Derby and Renée Lo Bue (Elk City, Flowers of America), and ‘Tricky Love Stuff’, featuring violinist Claudia Chopek(Bright Eyes, The Little River Band), saxophonist Peter Hess (Phillip Glass Ensemble, Anti-Social Music, Slavic Soul Party) and backing vocals by Lo Bue, Jessie Kilguss and Gary Burton (Dovedale).
This album is quite the star-studded affair, involving Lloyd Cole,Kevin March (Guided by Voices, The Dambuilders, Shudder to Think), Doug Gillard (Guided by Voices, Nada Surf), Sean Eden (Luna), Rainy Orteca (Joan As Police Woman), Mark Lizotte (Diesel), Rafa Maciejak (Lloyd Cole and the Negatives), Phoebe Summersquash (Small Factory), Lysa Opfer (Aeon Station), Kendall Meade (Mascott), Verena Wiesendanger (Semi Gloss), John Leon (Royal Arctic Institute), Hilken Mancini (Fuzzy), Richard Alwyn-Fisher (King Canutes), Mike Errico, Steve Hurley (Gigolo Aunts) and Carl Baggaley (Elk City, Royal Arctic Institute),
“Every step of this record has been about collaboration. Before we started, Ray Ketchem and I documented our vision for how the record should be. We wanted it to be simple, melodic, powerful and beautifully recorded. We were almost finished with the record and then COVID happened and we had to cancel what were initially intended to be the final sessions of making the album,” says Dave Derby.
“During the pandemic, when the entire world seemed to go on break, we reached out to friends like Mike Errico, John Leon (Royal Arctic Institute, Roky Erickson), Stephen Hurley (Gigolo Aunts) and Mark Lizotte (Diesel), who were able to contribute remotely. Their contributions really transformed the record.”
Ray Ketchem adds, “We were lucky to work with Greg Calbi, legendary Grammy-winning mastering engineer of classic records from Talking Heads, David Bowie and Bruce Springsteen. Calbi called me after spending the afternoon working on ‘Deleted Scenes’ and said, “Who IS this guy? Every one of these songs are fantastic!”
Lyrically driven and rich on vocal-harmony, interspersed with elements of 60s sunshine pop and folk-rock, ‘Deleted Scenes’ follows previous albums‘The Seasons of Love’ (2012) and ‘Gramercy Arms’ (2008).
‘Tricky Love Stuff’ is out now across online platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and other online stores, as well as Bandcamp, where the full ‘Deleted Scenes’ LP will be available on March 3.
On February 25, Gramercy Arms hosts a record release show at Boston’s Midway Cafe, along with guests Chris Brokaw, Hilken & Winston and Cotton Candy, followed by one on March 1 at Sid Gold’s in New York, the first in a monthly series hosted by Gramercy Arms, Jessie Kilguss and friends that will be somewhere between a Dick Cavett talk show and New Wave Theatre (80s LA Public Access Music Revue).
CREDITS
Produced, Recorded & Mixed by Ray Ketchem at Magic Door Recording
Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound
Publishing Passive-Aggressive BMI / Warner-Chappell
Artist photos by Max Skaff andDebora Francis
Cover artwork by Debora Francis and Ray Ketchem
‘Tricky Love Stuff’ video by Qian Wenyu
‘Yesterday’s Girl’ video by Debora Francis
Get into the 70s and 80s groove with NYC’s Gramercy Arms
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