{"id":792501,"date":"2019-01-29T11:32:16","date_gmt":"2019-01-29T18:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=786013"},"modified":"2019-01-29T11:32:16","modified_gmt":"2019-01-29T18:32:16","slug":"watch-the-mekons-trippy-joshua-tree-excursion-in-lawrence-of-california-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/music-news\/watch-the-mekons-trippy-joshua-tree-excursion-in-lawrence-of-california-video\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch the Mekons\u2019 Trippy Joshua Tree Excursion in \u2018Lawrence of California\u2019 Video"},"content":{"rendered":"
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British punk collective the Mekons<\/a> embrace the unreal nature of Joshua Tree in the video for their new song, \u201cLawrence of California.\u201d The track will appear on the group\u2019s forthcoming album, Deserted<\/em>, out March 29th via Bloodshot Records.<\/p>\n

\u201cLawrence of California\u201d is centered around a thumping drum groove and a swaggering cow-punk riff, both of which anchor crackling swells of horns, feedback and the Mekons\u2019 brash gang vocals. The accompanying video is set in the desert around Joshua Tree \u2013 where the Mekons recorded Deserted<\/em> \u2013 and matches the song\u2019s uncanny aesthetic with a mix of psychedelic effects.<\/p>\n

Deserted<\/em> marks the Mekons\u2019 first formal studio album since 2011\u2019s Ancient and Modern 1911 \u2013 2011<\/em><\/a>. In the years since, the group has released a variety of projects including 2015\u2019s Jura<\/em>, a collaboration with Robbie Fulks<\/a>, 2016\u2019s Existentialism<\/em>, which was recorded in real-time with the help of a full audience, and 2018\u2019s It Is Twice Blessed<\/em>, which was made by the group\u2019s 1977 lineup and released under the moniker, Mekons 77.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Mekons co-founder Jon Langford said of Deserted<\/em>, \u201cThe idea was to go to a brand new studio our bassist the Baron had set up just outside the Joshua Tree national park in Yucca Valley CA and see what happened \u2013 we were in the middle of a hectic tour and had been attempting to write material first by email and then in the van\u2026 Most of what we wrote was abandoned after arriving at the Los Gatos compound. The desert is not unlike the ocean (just drier) and equally inspirational to old pirate punk rockers. The harshness of the environment, the bold and embattled plants and creatures that live there are metaphorical for us perhaps.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mekons will embark on a world tour in support of Deserted<\/em>, starting with a European run in April. The band\u2019s North American leg kicks off July 14th at the Hideout in Chicago, Illinois and wraps July 25th at Tractor Tavern in Seattle, Washington.<\/p>\n

Deserted\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Track List<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. \u201cLawrence of California\u201d
2. \u201cHARAR 1883\u201d
3. \u201cIn the Sun\/The Galaxy Explodes\u201d
4. \u201cHow Many Stars?\u201d
5. \u201cIn the Desert\u201d
6. \u201cMIrage\u201d
7. \u201cWeimar Vending Machine\/Priest?\u201d
8. \u201cAndromeda\u201d
9. \u201cAfter the Rain\u201d<\/p>\n

Mekons North American Tour Dates<\/strong><\/p>\n

July 14 \u2013 Chicago, IL @ Hideout
July 15 \u2013 Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
July 17 \u2013 Pittsburgh, PA @ The Warhol Entrance Space
July 18 \u2013 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda\u2019s
July 19 \u2013 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
July 22 \u2013 Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
July 23 \u2013 Big Sur, CA @ Henry Miller Library
July 24 \u2013 San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
July 25 \u2013 Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern<\/p>\n

via:: Rolling Stone<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

British punk collective the Mekons embrace the unreal nature of Joshua Tree in the video for their new song, \u201cLawrence of California.\u201d The track will appear on the group\u2019s forthcoming album, Deserted, out March 29th via Bloodshot Records. \u201cLawrence of California\u201d is centered around a thumping drum groove and a swaggering cow-punk riff, both of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-792501","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-13 03:02:34","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=792501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792501\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=792501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=792501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=792501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}