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Hi Friends,
Singer-songwriter-musician MIRANDA LEE RICHARDS will showcase her new album Existential Beast from start–to–finish with her full band and a small orchestra next Wednesday, May 31 at the Bootleg Theater (2220 Beverly Blvd. L.A. 90057; MLR start time: 10:00pm).
A political album, Existential Beast’s psychological nuance and cultural exploration covers timely and important new ground; her bohemian background bred her and led her to this current musical moment, inspiring her eclectic and expressive art just when the music world–and the world in general–needs it the most.
Let me know if you are interested in coverage or attending.
Libby Coffey, MSO PR
Early reviews are pouring in for Existential Beast:
“Country music heard through psychedelic headphones…”
–Danny McCloskey, THE ALTERNATE ROOT (3/31/17)
“On her fourth album, Existential Beast, Richards enchants with a distinctive blend of spacey, harmony-laden pop (‘Back to the Source’) and intimate folk balladry (‘Autumn Sun’). But she also trips out amid the swirling psychedelic guitars and jazzy dynamic shifts of the hard-rocking epic ‘Golden Gate.’”
–James Moreland, LA WEEKLY (May 23, 2017)
“Richards brings her substantive, poetic lyrics together with a psychedelic, folk-tinged country sound (reminiscent of Los Angeles-based, early 1970’s band Spirit) to deliver a powerful look at today’s post-election political climate….think of Richards’ latest as a fairy tale for adults.‘Ashes And Seeds’ serves as a thoughtful reminder that history is constantly repeating and that conflict is essential to positive change. The smooth sounds of pedal steel highlight Richards’ laid back, fluid vocals. ‘Lucid I Would Dream’ evokes the dream-like state with the effective use of strings and Mellotron while lyrically imagining that with clarity, fears would diminish. Existential Beast closes, as it begins, with hope in the ethereal, string-laden and aptly- titled ‘Another World’. It is epic in length (over 12 minutes) and in breadth with its uplifting call to contribute to solutions.. There is much to discover in the beauty of the vocals, the poetry in the lyrics and the uniqueness of the production found in Existential Beast.”
–Harriet Watkins, THE DAILY COUNTRY (5/1/17)
“As aural experiences go, it’s wraparound sound, warm and precise, ethereal when the songwriter’s text calls for it.”
–Kevin Bronson, BUZZBANDS.LA (3/31/17)
“Richards’ latest, ‘Existential Beast,’ offers a beguiling hybrid of the dulcet sounds she dubs ‘dusty country’ and ‘fairy folk.‘ It’s also an overtly political album (there’s even an 11-minute protest song) that embodies its times.”
–Susan Moll, STOMP AND STAMMER (3/31/17)
“Musically the album draws from several ’70s sources–Laurel Canyon country-rock royalty (‘Ashes And Seeds’), Joe Boyd’s Witchseason productions for Island Records (‘Autumn Sun’, ‘Oh Raven’), through to the spoken word sections of David Axelrod’s Earth Rot (the end section of ‘Lucid I Dream’). Subtle use of echo throughout the album adds to the continuity of sound and aids its woozy intoxicating power. The album’s tour de force is saved till the end. Clocking in at 12 minutes, ‘Another World’ is the most overtly political song, calling out those in power and offering a vision of how things could be. Clever stuff.”
–Duncan Fletcher, SHINDIG! MAGAZINE
(four-out-of-four star album review, U.K., MAY 2017)
About MIRANDA LEE RICHARDS:
Born in San Francisco after the summer of love and before the dawn of disco, MIRANDA LEE RICHARDS grew up in an artistic and bohemian environment that has informed her adult life and work. After graduating from San Francisco School Of The Arts, she began to pursue a musical career. She met Kirk Hammett from Metallica who taught her to play Mazzy Star songs on guitar. Her early demos reached Anton Newcombe and she joined his band, the Brian Jonestown Massacre. MIRANDA then signed to Virgin Records and released her debut album The Herethereafter, a mix of folk, psychedelia, country and indie pop and found fans worldwide. The critically acclaimed follow-up album Light Of X–the title of which comes from a dream about harnessing beams of light to travel in time–followed in 2009 via Nettwerk Records. In 2016, MIRANDA unveiled Echoes Of The Dreamtime on Invisible Hands Music, which received rave reviews across in the U.K. and U.S., as well as national airplay with MOJO giving the album 4 stars and hailing the first single, “The sublime ‘First Light Of Winter’ is the moment it all comes together, Richards transcending her influences and, no longer constrained, arriving at psychedelia’s higher plane” (1/2016).Due out June 16, 2017 on Invisible Hands Music, her new album EXISTENTIAL BEAST follows a busy period for MIRANDA which included the release Echoes of the Dreamtime (LP, 2016), U.S. and European tours, creating music for the new Viceland series “Jungletown” as well as composing and performing “Hero Of the Silent War” the for the film The Hornet’s Nest. EXISTENTIAL BEAST is a political album, examining the current issues of our time, with the intent of tackling tough and taboo subjects in a poetic and heartfelt manner. The title is also a mash-up of terms, referencing the existential crisis that has risen. MIRANDA says of EXISTENTIAL BEAST, “We are working within those animal urges of fear, competition, survival and sexuality which are deep-seeded and manifesting in varying ways. Like it or not, these tendencies have been revealed, within our leaders, our countries and ourselves; it is indeed a pivotal and transformational moment in time and there is much work to be done.” EXISTENTIAL BEAST is yet another confident and inspiring piece of work from MIRANDA.
 Miranda Lee Richards. (Link). To attend an upcoming show or for music and media inquires re MIRANDA LEE RICHARDS, contact:
Libby Coffey
Senior Vice President, MSO
14724 Ventura Blvd. STE 500
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
O: 818-380-0400 x224
M: 626-676-4993
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