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The Legend of Spectacular Living

by Little Beards

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about

What do you do when the world is ending? Laugh.

At least that’s what is suggested by Little Beards, the Dallas, TX synth rock duo of Nan Kirkpatrick and Sean Kirkpatrick on their second album. The group’s previous release, 2017’s Midnight in the Garden of Chaotic Neutral, took listeners through the sleek world of mid-century America to reveal the emptiness underneath. The Legend of Spectacular Living is set three decades later and we’re in the heart of the crumbling empire. No one else is getting in on the ground floor. The golden days are over, and “remember when” is the lowest form of conversation.

From the doom-inspired bass on “What’s The Point (It’s Funny)” to the machine-gun beats on “Acts of Violence”, The Legend of Spectacular Living tells the story of the end of empire through the world of The Sopranos. The music can be lush, melodic, and danceable, but will often coalesce into claustrophobia or disorder. Nan and Sean’s alternating vocals hover over synths, organs and pianos, looped exotica and string samples, distorted bass guitar, and drum machines. The six-song album revels in the feeling that underneath the expensive exterior, there’s no promise of a better future and the search for meaning always comes up empty. Everyone is haunted, chased by a past that promised so much more than what they’re getting in the end.

On “Long Term Parking,” Nan’s pretty, echoing voice warns a former lover from an unmarked grave in the woods that they’ll never escape. (Ir)Regardless of whether you recognize the song title’s reference, you’ll feel haunted all the same.

While it is true the members of Little Beards share the same last name and are married, they reject the overused descriptor “husband-wife duo”. For one matter, Nan is non-binary. Secondly, Little Beards eschews the personal in favor of themes of existentialism, moral ambiguity, and immobility. Writing songs through the lens of these fictional antiheroes and complicit heroines liberates them to explore modern angst without over-sentimentality.

credits

released September 24, 2021

All songs written and performed by Little Beards.

Album Cover: Marjorie Owens
Mixed By: Alex Bhore
Mastered By: Sarah Register
Recorded at home during a global pandemic.

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Little Beards Dallas, Texas

Synth rock duo Nan Kirkpatrick and Sean Kirkpatrick

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