Splitsville - A Glorious Lie
As the countdown to the first album in two decades from indie pop icons SPLITSVILLE continues, Big Stir Records brings you the second preview single from the record: “A Glorious Lie”, out July 4 (two weeks ahead of the album MOBTOWN) and up for pre-order and pre-save now:
The announcement of the new album MOBTOWN from long-dormant Power Pop Hall Of Famers SPLITSVILLE has taken the indie pop world by surprise, and the strength of the first single “Beth Steel” has left fans old and new eager for more. Critics and DJs who've heard the full album (out July 18 on CD and Streaming and available for pre-order now) are already marveling at its balance of radio-ready hooks and thematic ambition. What the band – founding members BRANDT and MATT HUSEMAN (also of THE GREENBERRY WOODS) and PAUL KRYSIAK, joined by Splitsvillian since 2001 TONY WADDY – have crafted is a ten-track love letter to their hometown of Baltimore in all its complex and contradictory splendor, delivered with all the power and melodic acumen for which they're known.
Nowhere is that balance of irresistible ear candy and local literary lyricism more evident than on the new single “A Glorious Lie”. It's the kind of compact, hard-hitting pop tune might've been a hit in any decade from the '70s through today. To longtime followers, it will sound just like Splitsville at the height of their powers; to the uninitiated, its driving guitars, big harmonies and sweet synth lines might evoke Fountains Of Wayne or the pop side of Weezer. As glorious as it is on first listen, there's intriguing imagery within the lyrics that invites deeper investigation: “the King of Charm City,” “the Queen of Romania” and her three hundred roses... as the lyrics themselves ask, what does it mean?
Unsurprisingly, the answer lies in the historical lore of Baltimore itself, as SPLITSVILLE explain. “A Baltimore Magazine article called Secrets Of The Belvedere led to this fictional (unrequited) love story. It’s ostensibly from the point of view of William Francis Riesner, who was named maitre d’hotel of the iconic Baltimore hotel in 1919. Seven years later, in 1926, Queen Marie of Romania visited. There was a great gala held in her honor, where: 'the Ballroom [was] filled with hundreds of the Queen’s most favorite, fragrant roses.' Whether or not she brought a lady-in-waiting named Nadia with her is lost to time.”
Taken together, “A Glorious Lie” and the equally addictive indie hit lead single “Beth Steel” (an empathetic character sketch of a former Bethlehem Steel plant supervisor) begin to suggest the richness of the MOBTOWN project. Here's an album which, in its exploration of the history and culture of Baltimore as a mirror or microcosm to address societal and personal issues, approaches the lyrical heights of the peak period Kinks while sonically representing a Tarantino-esque melange of the best records of the last 60+ years of popular music. It's a goal one wishes more indie pop bands would take to heart, but there's no need: SPLITSVILLE have absolutely nailed it on MOBTOWN, and the pop rock world is already beginning to catch on.
