Luther Russell Preps 'Medium Cool'

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — A souped-up Corvette Stingray cruises Van Nuys Blvd., its occupants looking for all the cheap thrills and good times 1978 has to offer, only to find a barren, bland modern wasteland of 2018 blighted with strip malls, bail bonds and tech advertisements. The image of a random East Hollywood wall where so many posters, bills and flyers have lived and died that it now resembles nothing less than a minimalist modern-art collage covered in city filth. The flickering memory of being lured into a dark, noisy club circa 1988 by a wayward girl you’re in love with, only she’s in love with the drummer and suddenly you’ve stumbled into something else entirely: the world of rock ’n’ roll. 
 
These are a few of the themes hit upon in Luther Russell’s searing new album, Medium Cool, due out February 22, 2019 on Fluff & Gravy Records. Pre-orders are available via https://fluffandgravy.com/store/luther-russell-medium-cool/

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What does it look like when your own hometown looks like a stranger to you? What does it feel like when you can’t even remember what it’s it like to feel? What does it mean to be cool or uncool — or even “medium” cool? And who even gives a shit when you just want to rock? Though undeniably ‘rocking,’ in many ways this album is a kind of lament, but Luther’s version of a ‘lament’ these days appears to be plugging in the guitar, cranking up the amp and blasting out his thoughts and feelings straight to tape. 
 
“And the music plays so loud / As you float above the crowd / You’ve been set free” 
 
“With these songs, I thought I could maybe capture the essence of growing up in the San Fernando Valley during the heyday of rock ’n’ roll radio,” explains Russell. It’s unmistakably there in the drag strip reverie of “Corvette Summer,” in the kinetic multi-city shout-out “Have You Heard?” and the shredding solos of “Can’t Be Sad.” Along for the drive are echoes of the slightly off-kilter power pop that emerged from Memphis’ Ardent Studios in the 1970s. You can hear it in tracks such as the slamming opener “Deep Feelings,” the downcast jangler “Talkin’ to Myself” and a tube-frying plea to the downer of the party, “Sad Lady.” Makes sense, since Luther’s been working there regularly with Jody Stephens of Big Star in their duo Those Pretty Wrongs.

Medium Cool was recorded and mixed to analog tape in a short blast with the help of some old friends. Co-producer Jason Hiller, Luther’s musical partner through thick and thin, plucks the bass. Derek Brownof The Eels, Luther’s pal since his Portland days, smashes the skins. Popsmith and longtime musical foilDanny De La Matyr sings sweeping harmonies. Liam Hayes of Plush makes a rare appearance, playing guitar on the poignant elegy, “Blue Balloon”. 
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Medium Cool is heralded by a 7" single — out November 16, 2018 on Fluff & Gravy —containing “The Sound of Rock & Roll” and the flip side, “Saturday’s Child,” which didn’t make the album, but for Luther, is a clue to the spirit of the record. “It’s about the power of youth and beauty. An ingenue hits the club scene. Everyone competes to light her cigarette. She’s a star.” As for the aforementioned “The Sound of Rock & Roll,” nothing encapsulates the feeling of Medium Cool more than the weary acoustic intro:
 
“Well, we’re back to the beginning / Everybody’s laughing, joking / And she’s leaning on the lamppost / in a leather jacket, smoking”. 
 
That’s how this whole damned thing got started…
 
Featuring the work of photographer Jim Newberry, the full-length record arrives in February, also out on Fluff & Gravy. Both album and single will be available on cassette via SoCal’s own underground sensation Burger Records. Also due out on Burger in January is Those Pretty Wrongs’ new 7" as well as a forthcoming live cassette Luther cut at Burger’s Fullerton, Calif. record shop in support of his recent decade-spanning retrospective, Selective Memories: An Anthology.
 
Medium Cool track listing:
Side 1:
Deep Feelings
Can’t Be Sad
The Sound of Rock & Roll
Corvette Summer
At Your Feet
 
Side 2:
Have You Heard?
Sad Lady
Talkin’ to Myself
Blue Balloon
Can’t Turn Away
 
7” Single:
A: The Sound of Rock & Roll
B: Saturday’s Child