by Adelie Salagnac
Photo courtesy of Echo Ave
Sold-out shows, featured songs on TV shows, Tri-State Indie Awards… The list of accomplishments is long for Philadelphia-based band The Lawsuits. With a sound somewhere between My Morning Jacket and Fleetwood Mac, the band is releasing its second full-length, and debut album with new record label, Moon Son. They are going to celebrate this Friday at the Foundry – and you are all invited.
With “11 songs of melodic rock and groove with expressive pop vivacity through lyrics that balance darkness with lights”, Moon Son will be out next month via Randm Records – a first for the so far indie band The Lawsuits. Songwriter, singer, guitarist, and overall multi-talented Brian Dale Allen Strouse took some time to chat with me and shares his excitement with us. “The recordings are better,” he admits, “it is definitely a more focused effort by our part and it sounds great. We are really proud of it.”
He adds that the album has its own style and heartbeat, its own rhythm and recipe: “While it might bear the name The Lawsuits on the cover, it is certainly built with different materials than our previous released. It’s dynamic and genre bending at times, but maintains a cohesive element from start to finish.”
An exclusive evening will be held at the Foundry this Friday to celebrate the release of the new album – heaven for fans of the Lawsuits, the night will be filled with dancing, lights, new music, and the opportunity to get a hard copy of Moon Son before everyone else.
Strouse comments: “It is a guarantee that there will be new music – hopefully some dancing and lights. The best thing about hometown shows like this one is definitely seeing all those familiar faces. There is something magical or majestic about those. It feels like it is bigger than what is it. Philadelphia has been really supportive of our music and of us. We love playing Philadelphia.”
The promise of a refreshing and energetic show for the band, who has been playing the same set for a while. Strouse promised me it would be just as rock as it used to be, and goes on about trying to focus on touring a little bit more in the future: getting on the road and creating some type of stable touring, being more of a touring band, rather than a band getting out there from time to time, is definitely one of the band’s main goal. With a promising album that they are proud of, Strouse firmly believes that it deserves some time to flourish.
Talking to Strouse, one can easily sense his talent, knowledge and wisdom. I got curious about what advice he would give to a newcomer band. “I’m still trying to figure out things for myself,” he admits, before adding: “The advice would be, I guess, to keep going and try!”
Being in a band for so long, Strouse must have seen it all – up until very recently, when the band’s drummer Josh Aaron Friedman got his vehicle vandalized and his gear stolen, launching a GoFundMe campaign to recuperate the $4,000 worth of losses. Overwhelmed by the response, Strouse says “The support from the community was amazing. We raised 3,000 dollars in a few days, and we completed it, it’s done now! Initially we weren’t going to do the GoFundMe page, but we realized that as a band we were not going to be able to help him out at the moment, because of the new album and of the new tour.”
Full tour schedule can be found on the band’s website.
The Lawsuits will be playing their exclusive release show at the Foundry this Friday. Tickets and info here.
