Brett Newski’s fourth studio album Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down arrives on 3 April via Nomad Union. The album takes on a number of topics relevant on a global scale in 2020: loneliness, depression, anxiety and the alienation that being connected to media devices at all times can bring. Rather than crushing the listener under the weight of these topics, Newski finds a way to bathe the listener in slacker cool vibes.
Witness “What’d Ya Got to Lose”, a heavily hypnotic slice of slacker pop that feels like a lost bedroom pop classic from the ’70s, one of those tunes that was overlooked in its time but feels revelatory down the line. Except this song is happening now and its revelations are perfect for these times when optimism is in short supply and steady rockers such as this track can be a great source of comfort.
Newski adds, “So many of us get stuck in a life we didn’t plan for…an emotional prison that takes shape in an uneventful relationship, addictive vice, or wildly uninspiring employment situation. ‘What’d Ya Got to Lose’ is about breaking those vicious cycles,” he says. “Pivot. Start over. What’s on the other side? Can it be worse than it is now? If you have a good head on your shoulders, you will land on your feet.”
TOUR DATES
South Africa
02.20 – Cape Town @Caferoux1
02.21 – Cape Town @ Alma Cafè
02.22 – McGregor @At_The_Courtyard
03.01 – Johannesburg – Hell’s Kitchen
North America
04.03 – Youngstown, OH @ Westside Bowl
04.04 – Baltimore, MD @ Tin Roof
04.05 – New York, NY @ Bowery Electric
04.07 – Easton, MD @ Avalon Theatre
04.08 – Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall
04.09 – Greensboro, NC @ Flat Iron
04.10 – Asheville, NC @ New Belgium Brewing
04.11 – Atlanta, GA @ Smith’s Olde Bar W/ James Hall (Pleasure Club)
04.14 – Louisville, KY @ Odeon
04.15 – Cincinnati, OH @ Motr
04.16 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Founder’s
04.17 – Lake Orion, MI @ 20 Front St
04.18 – Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Taproom W/ Goran Of The Gufs
04.26 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry W/ Goran Of The Gufs