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Baby
I'm Bored is the eagerly anticipated, much rumoured-about, first studio
solo album from former Lemonheads front man Evan Dando. Anyone unfamiliar
with Evan's past will need no back story to appreciate this eclectic and
affecting collection of songs, which ranges from bittersweet country rock
to pure pop pleasure, dashed with a little indie-rock noise. Evan enlisted
many friends and collaborators for the making of "Baby I'm Bored,"
which was tracked in sessions in New York City, Los Angeles and Tucson,
Arizona. Among the players and co-writers are Ben Lee, who contributed two
songs to this album, Howe Gelb, John Convertino and Joey Burns from Giant
Sand and Calexico, former Spacehog front man Royston Langdon, one-time Codeine
drummer/Come guitarist Chris Brokaw and Come drummer Arthur Johnson; Evan's
long-time Lemonheads song writing partner Tom Morgan also had a hand in
the writing. Los Angeles-based composer Jon Brion, best known for his collaboration
with / production of Aimee Mann, Fiona Apple and for the scores of Boogie
Nights, Magnolia and Punch Drunk Love, produced, co-wrote and played on
several of these tracks with Evan; New York producer Bryce Goggin, who produced
the last Lemonheads album "Car Button Cloth" as well as several
Pavement albums, produced the majority of tracks that comprise "Baby
I'm Bored". Additionally, Evan has sporadically appeared as a guest
musician or vocalist. He played on and wrote songs for the Blake Babies
2001 album "God Bless The Blake Babies," and provided lead vocals
for Massive Attack string arranger/film composer (Moulin Rouge, etc.) Craig
Armstrong's cinematic song "Wake Up In New York" for Craig's recent
solo album "As If To Nothing" (Melankolic/Virgin). He recently
appeared on the Lee Hazlewood tribute album (released on City Slang). |
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collaboration with Ben Lee, Tom Petersson from Cheap Trick and Jason Schwartzman
from Phantom Planet resulted an Internet-only single, "Dead Or Anything"
and "Love Song," on Australian indie, Trifekta Records. He very
recently recorded with friend/songwriting partner Tom Morgan in Australia
for Tom's upcoming band / album, the Give Goods (EMI Records). In his
songs, Evan has always mixed open-heartedness and good humour with a tantalizing
diffidence and a certain element of mystery. Like a slightly blurred photograph
of someone you really want to look at, Evan's work draws you in with the
promise of confidences to be offered, late-night escapades to be recounted,
and jokes to be shared. You may never really get to know him, but you're
not going to stop trying.
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