Indie legend Jeffrey Lewis recently released a new single ahead of the release of his latest album, 'Bad Wiring', with his “new” band The Voltage.
The single features two songs, the titular 'In Certain Orders' and 'LPs', both showcasing the singer-songwriter's gradual shift from lo-fi basement indie to a bigger, ballsier, yet more refined sound.
While The Voltage have never appeared with Jeffery on an album, they are the same members Lewis has been touring with for the last four years under the name Los Bolts: bassist Mem Pahl, and drummer Brent Cole.
The name change is merely a continuation of Lewis' tradition of using a new band name for each release, this time he's cashing in on his perception of all good bands having a 'v' in their name.
“Everybody knows most good bands have a ‘v’ in their name: Velvets, Nirvana, Pavement, Vaselines, Violent Femmes, Camper Van Beethoven, Modern Lovers, etc.,” he says.
Recent Jeffrey Lewis band names like The Rain, Los Bolts and The Voltage are also in reference to the fact that Jeffrey’s middle name is Lightning, the result of being born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the 1970s to hippie parents, it was almost his first name but got moved to the middle name when he was born.
Name changes and shifts in style aside, this EP is just another example of Jeffrey's unique and quirky approach to songwriting, and could very well be some of the best work of his 18-year career.
'LPs' is a frantic love song to physical media, with the singer reminiscing about purchasing unknown albums before the advent of the Internet, when he could truly discover a new artist at a reasonable price, before moving onto collecting CDs once vinyls became too expensive.
'In Certain Orders' is a more tender track, with soaring guitars, and a mellow bassline accompanying Lewis' lamenting of the dullness of day-to-day life and the struggles of human interaction.
Recorded and produced in Nashville by the man behind the production of Yo La Tengo's best albums, Roger Moutenot, who also worked on Lou Reed's 'Magic And Los's album and Sleater Kinney’s 'Hot Rock' album.
Given his previous experience, it's no wonder Lewis actively sought him out to work on this album with him. “As an experience of working with a producer, it was a dream come true.
“I obviously worship a number of the records Roger had produced in the past, so I specifically sought him out. The fact that he’s in Nashville was just accidental, we would have travelled to record with him anywhere.
“Now when people hear we made our album in Nashville, everybody’s like, 'oh, I guess this is your country album',” Jeffrey explains.
