Scott McMicken And The Ever-Expanding Release Debut Album ‘Shabang’ Today
Part Basement Tapes, Paul Simon, and a globetrotting foray into progressive sounds, ‘SHABANG’ is some of the most exploratory music of Scott McMicken’s career. His debut album with the new group Scott McMicken and THE EVER-EXPANDING is out today.
Over the past few years, McMicken has been building out his home studio operation, working on music and recording other artists like Big Thief and Michael Nau. For most of 2021, he wrote and recorded a sizable batch of solo songs but no matter how much he tinkered with them, something felt off and he realized he needd a band. The result was THE EVER-EXPANDING, a group of musicians assembled by producer Nick Kinsey, and most of whom had never even met. As sessions began at Kinsey’s studio, The Chicken Shack, McMicken decided to scrap most of the songs he’d painstakingly demoed to invite unshaken improvisation.
“There’s something about being around strangers that just kind of holds the mirror up on you,” says McMicken. “I think there's a higher degree of accountability when you’re making music. You thrive within the limitations and awkwardness if you are really honed and you're intuitive.”
By being present and living with these musicians (quite literally: McMicken and Nau stayed in tents outside the studio) united under one common goal, 'SHABANG' is full of life and endlessly candid. “I knew nothing good will come of this unless I am totally free and away from any pressure and pretense,” says McMicken. “Such an incredible spectrum of emotion passed through me while making this album. There was this lightness and un-self seriousness. I feel like music and life cruises at that spot: everybody was so wholeheartedly invested and open.”
Scott McMicken and THE EVER-EXPANDING will perform some of their first-ever shows next month in Brooklyn, Washington DC and Philadelphia; info on those dates is listed below.
TOUR DATES
4/20 - Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
4/21 - Washington DC – Union Stage
4/23 - Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of The Living Arts