Sean Nelson fronted Harvey Danger until their breakup in 2009, and now the voice behind "Flagpole Sitta" is preparing to release his first-ever solo album. Make Good Choices is out on June 4 through Really Records.
Although the album is a billed as a solo disc, Nelson — who also plays with the Long Winters — didn't create it alone, since contributors include Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Chris Walla (Deathcab for Cutie), Rachel Blumberg (the Decemberists, M. Ward, Bright Eyes), Dave Depper (Menomena, Fruit Bats), and Howard Draper (Shearwater), plus Centro-Matic members Matt Pence and Scott Danbom.
The album was recorded in bits and pieces over nearly a decade, whenever he and his collaborators had free time. According to a press release, these songs are "less like an accumulation of discrete sessions and more like an oddly organic collection unified by Nelson's irrepressible pop instincts, razor-sharp lyrics, and powerhouse voice. And so, yes: kind of a solo record, and kind of not, but more to the point a record-of smart, funny, sad, and true pop-rock songs that peer into the dark corners of the culture, the psyche, and the singer himself."
Peruse the 12-song tracklist below and scroll past that to watch the animated video for the quirkily bouncy "Make Good Choices" [via NPR].
Make Good Choices:
1. The World Owes Me a Living (And I Intend To Collect w/ Intro)
2. Born Without a Heart
3. Creative Differences
4. Brooklyn Bridge
5. Make Good Choices
6. Advance and Retreat
7. Ski Lift Accident
8. More Good News from the Front
9. I'll Be the One
10. The Price of Doing Business
11. Stupid and 25 (The Incredibly Sad Shuffle)
12. Hey, Millicent
13. Kicking Me Out of the Band
Although the album is a billed as a solo disc, Nelson — who also plays with the Long Winters — didn't create it alone, since contributors include Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Chris Walla (Deathcab for Cutie), Rachel Blumberg (the Decemberists, M. Ward, Bright Eyes), Dave Depper (Menomena, Fruit Bats), and Howard Draper (Shearwater), plus Centro-Matic members Matt Pence and Scott Danbom.
The album was recorded in bits and pieces over nearly a decade, whenever he and his collaborators had free time. According to a press release, these songs are "less like an accumulation of discrete sessions and more like an oddly organic collection unified by Nelson's irrepressible pop instincts, razor-sharp lyrics, and powerhouse voice. And so, yes: kind of a solo record, and kind of not, but more to the point a record-of smart, funny, sad, and true pop-rock songs that peer into the dark corners of the culture, the psyche, and the singer himself."
Peruse the 12-song tracklist below and scroll past that to watch the animated video for the quirkily bouncy "Make Good Choices" [via NPR].
Make Good Choices:
1. The World Owes Me a Living (And I Intend To Collect w/ Intro)
2. Born Without a Heart
3. Creative Differences
4. Brooklyn Bridge
5. Make Good Choices
6. Advance and Retreat
7. Ski Lift Accident
8. More Good News from the Front
9. I'll Be the One
10. The Price of Doing Business
11. Stupid and 25 (The Incredibly Sad Shuffle)
12. Hey, Millicent
13. Kicking Me Out of the Band
