Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive premiere of "American Monster," a new song by Everclear.
The track is from the band's upcoming ninth studio album, Black Is the New Black, which will be released April 28 via The End Records. The vinyl version of the album will follow on June 16.
Watch the giant cassette in the video player below and tell us what you think of the song!
Black Is the New Black is a diverse offering from the band, completely devoid of ballads and nostalgia. The album, which features a healthy dose of tasteful shred guitar courtesy of Davey French, is a throwback to the potency and urgency of the band's indie debut, 1993's World of Noise.
Besides French, Everclear features drummer Sean Winchester, bassist Freddy Herrera, keyboardist Josh Crawley and, of course, singer/guitarist and band co-founder Art Alexakis.
“This is not an upbeat Everclear record," Alexakis says. "It’s pretty dark, lyrically and musically. When I would sit down with the guitar and start coming up with ideas, it was pushing toward a darker place. Which is kind of bizarre because right now things are really good! I feel safe enough to go to the dark places. And trust me, there's plenty of dark places in me. I've never had a shortage of that.”
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"American Monster" and "The Man Who Broke His Own Heart" are available for instant download via iTunes with pre-orders of the album. You can see a complete track list for the new album below.
In other Everclear news, May marks the 20th anniversary of the band's seminal 1995 Sparkle and Fade album, which spawned the hits "Santa Monica" and "Heroin Girl." The band will be doing a short run of dates in Australia in May to commemorate the anniversary; they'll even be performing the album in full. You can check out the dates below.
This summer, Everclear will embark on a major U.S. run as part of the Summerland Tour, which also will feature American Hi Fi, the Toadies and Fuel. Alexakis is curating the tour this year!
For more about Everclear, follow them on Facebook.
Black Is the New Black Track List:
01. Sugar Noise
02. The Man Who Broke His Own Heart
03. American Monster
04. Complacent
05. You
06. This Is Your Death Song
07. Simple and Plain
08. Anything Is Better Than This
09. Van Gogh Sun
10. Pretty Bomb
11. Safe
Sparkle and Fade Anniversary Tour of Australia:
May 7 – Adelaide – Fowlers – Tickets May 8 – Melbourne – Corner Hotel – Tickets May 9 – Brisbane – Eatons Hill FMX Festival – Tickets May 10 – Sydney – Metro – Tickets May 12 – Newcastle – Small Ballroom – Tickets May 13 – Mona Vale – Mona Vale Hotel – Tickets May 14 – Perth – Rosemount – Tickets
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
