THE MORTAL PROPHETS: Drop New Single
| The Mortal Prophets Announce New EP, Share “Sleeping In My Bed” Single Sleeping In My Bed EP Due March 15 via All DSPs Photo by Cat Chow |
| LISTEN & SHARE: The Mortal Prophets – “Sleeping In My Bed” Spotify / Apple MusicLISTEN & SHARE: The Mortal Prophets – Dealey Plaza Blues LP Spotify / Apple MusicLISTEN & SHARE: The Mortal Prophets – Me And The Devil LP Spotify / Apple MusicLISTEN & SHARE: The Mortal Prophets – Stomp the Devil EP Spotify / Apple MusicHaving already taken the group’s ethos to almost unimaginable heights with last summer’s Dealey Plaza Blues, NYC-based experimental rock musician John Beckmann, doing daring and dauntless business as The Mortal Prophets, returns with the 6-song Sleeping in My Bed EP (due March 15) to assure us that that remarkable piece of work was no fluke. The EP’s announcement today is additionally accompanied by the release of its title track.Proving beyond doubt his placement on the list of this country’s canonical songwriters, Beckmann has gotten his house so much so that, upon any release but this one especially, it’s fair to expect a string of classics resounding through its hallways, no matter from which stylistic room any particular track may originate. With its initial swirl of dusty acoustic and dark effects and the drone of a uniquely American dread hanging over it, the atmospheric, cinematic, and wholly evocative opener “A Gun and a Prayer” has one imagining Morricone lost in a new bad dream of sad American heroism even as the track is as head-nodding addictive as anything Beckmann has produced. “Sleeping in My Bed,” with its sultry, soulful blues vamp soaked in saxophone and menace creating a vibe that places it midway between a bar on Bourbon St at 6 AM and a tent revival, drips with an incantatory fever, Beckmann’s vocal, against an arrangement of horn and lowing organ, leaving no doubt as to the narrator’s intention. “Tom Waits in Drag” not only speaks for itself but, coming on the (likely high) heels of that title track, proves the perfect segue as it takes place on Bourbon Street before “Hell or High Water” continues down this EP’s sublimely dissipated path, yearning and obsession laid bare for all to hear and then there’s three more past that but let’s leave those for your discovery as you undoubtedly have the idea.As a piece of work, Sleeping in My Bed, as is true of any and all of The Mortal Prophet’s work, suggests a reimagining of Tin Pan Alley after years of neglect and abuse, brought back to stunning life with all its wounds and scars and shattered glass right out there in the open yet no less inspiring and swoon-worthy for all that. This is a modern pop music that, on the one hand, is fearless in its conjuring of a broken world while, on the other, clings with great faith to the precepts of classic American songwriting. No one else is attempting this with quite the verve and fearlessness as The Mortal Prophets, nor is anyone succeeding to a level heard here on the new EP. A great artist doing great work is usually more than enough, but when that work also speaks to the national psyche and the wounded human heart beating inside it, that’s everything that could be asked for from any songwriter. John Beckmann delivers just that. Sleeping in My Bed Credits: John Beckmann: vocals and lyrics Aoibheann Carey-Philpott: backing vocals Jon Cobert, pianist on TWID Danny Flam, saxophones, and horns Gordon Ashe: Drums on BTD Matthew Carter: Drum programming on HW Will Wilde : Harmonica on HW William D. Lucey: bass, keyboards, samples and programming, electric and acoustic guitars Produced and mixed by William D. Lucey High Water written by John Beckman and William D Lucey Studio: LeftBank, Cork, Ireland  Sleeping In My Bed – TRACKLISTING 01. Gun and a Prayer 02. Sleeping in My Bed 03. Tom Waits in Drag 04. Hell Or High Water 05. Cut You Down 06. Bury Them Deep As previously mentioned, last summer, The Mortal Prophets unveiled their sophomore LP, Dealey Plaza Blues, composed of part-original tracks and part-psychotronica reimaginings of classic rock and blues staples,produced with Alexander Krispin (a protégé of Daniel Langois). This release followed their debut, Me and the Devil, on which Beckmann joined forces with Irish musician and producer William Declan Lucey (Rubyhorse, Leftbank), and collaborators Morphine’s Dana Colley and vocalist Aoibheann Carey-Philpott. At the very start of the project, Beckmann also dropped an EP entitled Stomp the Devil, produced by David Sisko and featuring collaborations with Gary Lucas (Captain Beefheart). Stay tuned for The Mortal Prophets’ latest EP, due in 2024.PRAISE FOR THE MORTAL PROPHETS “Beckmann returns from the hair-frying intensity of his previous release, Me and the Devil, with a follow-up that sticks to a similar sonic blueprint ie: radically interpreting old, often traditional, songs by keeping the lyrics and discarding any melodies you might once have associated with them while adding an often disturbing dose of electronics” **** 4/5 Stars – American Songwriter “Satisfying and leaves one gasping at both the startling results and the daring it took to create them. It’s those records that we end up acknowledging as legends at birth […] DPB is a fresh, exciting, even startling record because it’s like nothing you’ve heard before and because you’re deeply familiar with most of what it offers.” – Musicology “Echoing the transformative spirit of Janis Joplin, Beckmann presents a modern adaptation steeped in techno elements. His rendition weaves an enchanting narrative, striking a chord as compelling as its historical counterparts.” – Post-Punk “An eerie, hypnotic story […] evokes deep emotion while sparking conversations surrounding paranoia, grief, and conspiracy” – Wonderland“Like a fire-breathing ensemble risen from the ether with a fearless blend of genre-fucking intelligence driving them toward a type and level of musical adventurism that’ll leave any music nerd worth their salt. [Beckmann] takes the raw dark spirits that illuminate them from within, that kind of anti-holy holy spirit that shudders and screams and twists itself into an inviolable truth no matter the listener, their location, their age, and raises it up to screech over the restless sepulchres of modern life, a Holy Ghost of Menace that springs eternal and we are thrilled to bring you this take on the old, deathless Joe Williams classic (or was it Bessie Smith? See the interview below). This being one of those instances where words will mostly fail to compare in eloquence what the music so effortlessly unfurls.” – StereoEmbers “Wrapped in a gritty, slow-built soundscape of guitars and crisp beats […] A reflection of everything primitive blues to ethereal German electronica and swamp rock stylings, the album will a melting pot of music that touches our heart and gets our feet tapping along.” – EARMILK“A mad, musical scientist, Beckmann has a penchant for twisting genres, mixing gospel and Americana with more avant beats.” – American SongwriterTHE MORTAL PROPHETS LINKS Website | Soundcloud | Instagram | YouTube |
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