Greg Mendez announces new album Beauty Land and shares video for ‘I Wanna Feel Pretty’
Greg Mendez by Stephen Yang
"In less than two minutes, Greg Mendez can express a lifetime’s worth of pain, regret, and resilience.” – Pitchfork
“It's at once a grandiose and understated... Mendez’s severe lyrical specificity opens up entire worlds in which the listener can find themselves.” - Rolling Stone
“In Mendez's hands, coming to terms with the worst of times has led to music so grippingly human, you'll want to hear him grapple with his demons on an endless loop." - NPR
"Mendez’s unrefined, plaintive voice, his piercing melodies, and his conversational but haunting lyrics all mark him out as one of the best songwriters to come out of a city teeming with great songwriters." - Stereogum
“The best songwriters can take visceral moments from their lives and bend them to the palettes of the people listening to them unfold, so they can inject themselves into these spaces; Mendez’s ability to leave that door cracked for the rest of us is what makes him one of our subtlest geniuses.” - Paste
“Nakedly honest and gently strummed indie rock confessionals.” - The FADER
Philadelphia singer-songwriter Greg Mendez announces his long-awaited new album, Beauty Land, with the release of its lead single, ‘I Wanna Feel Pretty’. On Beauty Land, his debut LP for Dead Oceans due 29th May, we’re guided by a wry but forgiving narrator, an underdog who has learned to balance cynicism and faith. These songs are self-effacing without self-pity, carefully constructed altars of imperfection channelled through pop melodies, shimmering but urgent guitars, and a voice that reaches for choir boy innocence.
Of the shot-on-35mm video directed by Rhys Scarabosio, Mendez says “I spent most of my childhood in the suburbs, surrounded by the American Dream. Grand and lonely, strip malls and housing developments. Cathedrals of consumerism and reconstituted culture. The stores weren’t built for the towns, the towns were built for the stores. No one really belongs. The dream is close enough to smell but as soon as you reach out, your hand passes right through - a hologram of a promise. I hoped this video would feel like that.”
The bulk of Beauty Land was recorded directly to tape, almost entirely alone in Mendez’s makeshift home studio in Philadelphia - a small room with no natural light. It’s his first full-length album since his unexpected breakthrough self-titled album in 2023, which was a slow burn success following 15 years of writing and recording music in relative obscurity between Philly and New York. Beauty Land picks up where we left off three years ago – plumbing the depths of grief, love, and addiction – but its intense, quiet clarity shows Mendez at his songwriting best.
Mendez is taking his stark and affecting live show on the road this summer. Pre-sales for the tour begin on Weds 4th March with general on-sale starting on Fri March 6th at 10 am local time. Tickets will be available at gregmendez.net.
All dates below.
Tour Dates:
10/06 - Washington, DC - Songbyrd #
11/06 - Richmond, VA - Richmond Music Hall #
12/06 - Asheville, NC - Static Age #
13/06 - Nashville, TN - The Blue Room #
15/06 - Bloomington, IN - The Bishop #
16/06 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon #
17/06 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th St Entry #
19/06 - Iowa City, IA - Gabe's Oasis #
20/06 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall #
21/06 - Detroit, MI - Lager House #
23/06 - Toronto, ON - Sound Garage #
24/06 - Northampton, MA - Iron Horse Music Hall #
25/06 - Portland, ME - SPACE Gallery #
26/06 - Boston, MA - Sinclair #
27/06 - Hamden, CT - Space Ballroom #
30/06 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg #
01/07 - Kingston, NY - Tubby's #
10/07 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church #
31/07 - Durham, NC - Cat's Cradle Back Room ^
01/08 - Atlanta, GA - Aisle 5 ^
02/08 - New Orleans, LA - Siberia ^
04/08 - Austin, TX - 29th Street Ballroom ^
05/08 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada ^
07/08 - Santa Fe, NM - Meow Wolf ^
08/08 - Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar ^
09/08 - San Diego, CA - Soda Bar ^
10/08 - Los Angeles, CA - Sid the Cat Auditorium ^
12/08 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent ^
14/08 - Portland, OR - Polaris ^
15/08 - Seattle, WA - Barboza ^
16/08 - Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Cabaret ^
18/08 - Boise, ID - Shrine Social Club ^
19/08 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court ^
21/08 - Denver, CO - Lost Lake ^
22/08 - Kansas City, MO - Record Bar ^
23/08 - St Louis, MO - Off Broadway ^
24/08 - Newport, KY - Southgate House Revival ^
25/08 - Pittsburgh, PA - Bottlerocket ^
# with Scarlet Rae
^ with Maria BC
Greg Mendez
Beauty Land
Out May 29th on Dead Oceans
Pre-Order
I Wanna Feel Pretty
Looking Out Your Window
Mary / Dreaming
Everybody Wants To Be Your Friend (Except Me)
Gentle Love
Frog
It Breaks My Heart
Sunsick
No Evil
Geranium
Interlude in D Minor
Serving Drinks
So Mean
Concussion
Connect with Greg Mendez
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