Khruangbin
A La Sala

Welcome to Roseville, the 7th studio album by Har Mar Superstar. Sean Tillmann’s latest collection of songs is career defining culmination of life and musical experiences that were heavily influenced by 70s AM gold artists including Todd Rundgren, Elton John, Carole King, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Genesis, Hall and Oates, Meat Loaf, Dory Previn, and ELO. The album came together in the late months of 2020 and is the first true collaborative effort of the whole touring band. It was distance recorded by all of the members in their home studios and the band’s home base, Mid City Studio, in Minneapolis. It has been described as an “existential homecoming” that chronicles Tillmann’s return to life as a Minnesotan over the last 5 years.Most of the album was produced by bandmates Aaron Baum and Ryan Mach. John Fields (Jonas Brothers, Andrew WK, Har Mar’s 2004 album “The Handler”) returned to Team Har Mar producing “Solid Ghost” and “Hearts Have Misspoken”, and Ryan Olson (Poliça, Gayngs, Swamp Dogg) dropped in to produce “Patchwork Prisms”. Texas musical legends in the making Kam Franklin (The Suffers) and Jackie Venson (one of the greatest guitarists alive) popped by to elevate “Another Century” into a soul duet masterpiece. Denver Dalley (Desaparecidos) and T. Macey Taylor (Bright Eyes, Jenny Lewis, Amanda Shires) appear on “Where We Began” which they helped write on the road while supporting Afghan Whigs a few years back. The band is Nelson Devereaux, Jake Baldwin, Adam Hurlburt, Ethan Elseth, Aaron Baum, and Ryan Mach, and everyone had a hand in co-writing to help make this album a united, genre hopping masterpiece.The whole album is a cohesive journey designed to be listened to front to back, but each track is strong enough to stand on its own.

“Chase the sun with me,” beckons singer Rebecca Jade during the chorus of “Come With Me,” the funky uptempo opening track of Running Out of Time. It’s a fitting start to the second full-length by Rebecca Jade and the Cold Fact, which sees the San Diego supergroup build on the distinct brand of West Coast soul it developed in its 2016 debut. Anchored by vintage tones and tightly knit grooves, the album fills a modern rock meets R&B space previously staked out by Alabama Shakes and Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings.Jade herself shows up with Mavis Staples-like dynamism when called for, injecting power into soul shaking numbers including “Come With Me” and the revved up “I Only Smoke When I Drink” (and its follow up lyric “I only drink when I think of you”). The San Diego native has been touring nationally with Sheila E., and echoes of the 90s R&B she grew up listening to are woven through Running Out of Time, found in the summery pop of “Worth My Wait,” and torchy, Caribbean inflected “New York.” Elsewhere she balances her potent gospel-like choruses with breezy Minnie Riperton sweetness, as in the Hammond organ-drenched “Miss You” and timeless vintage of album closer “Change.”The soft brass swells of “Change” and other mid-tempo tunes lend textural contrast to the percussive funk blasts livening up other parts of the record. Horn arrangements were contributed by Andy Geib, the San Diego music vet who’s brought brass sections to a litany of projects, including Toots and the Maytals, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, and B-Side Players. Most of the band behind the Cold Fact is comprised of frequent Redwoods Music collaborators, including drummer Jake Najor, bass player Jason Littlefield, and evocative lyricist Alfred Howard. Along with their accomplished crew of musicians, Howard and co-producer Matthew Molarius display a studied fondness for the output of their spiritual predecessors with Staxx records and the Wrecking Crew, while adding a tinge of Hollywood Hills psychedelia to the mix.Rebecca Jade credits a convergence of influences for bringing so much creative energy to the new album. “The guys in the Cold Fact bring an extensive catalog of music with them.” she says. “My musical upbringing had a lot of soul and R&B, more radio friendly stuff. We get together and listen to these deep cuts they love, that spark ideas for all these different directions we might go. I’m really grateful to work with them, because they open my world up big time.”