Joe Wong’s Latest Album Benefits From ‘Cinematic Detail’
Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist composer and podcast host Joe Wong just released “In the Morning,” the latest track from Nite Creatures, his new album that’s due out Sept. 18 via Decca Records. The droning song features lackadaisical vocals and a psychedelic melody that hearkens back to the ’60s.
According to a press release, “‘In the Morning’ charts the emergence from a mystical death cult.”
“This song features special guest Steven Drozd joining me on guitar and stereo drums — he in one speaker, me in the other,” says Wong in a press release. “Steven’s work with the Flaming Lips is a huge influence; I still remember buying The Soft Bulletin on CD at Newbury Comics in Boston and listening in awe until the AA batteries in my Discman died. What a genius! We recorded Steven’s parts in Milwaukee Howl Street Recordings with the amazing Shane Hochstetler.”
“In The Morning” follows Wong’s psychedelic debut single “Dreams Wash Away,” which was featured in the final episode of Neflitx’s acclaimed animated series The Midnight Gospel. Produced by Emmy award-winning animation studio Titmouse, the video for “Dreams Wash Away” features re-contextualized elements from the show. Wong has also previously released double single “Minor”/“Nuclear Rainbow,” and the Marianne Faithfull-inspired “Day After Day.”
Nite Creatures was written in the years between Wong’s father suffering a stroke in 2010 and his death in 2019. The result is an album that — in the cinematic detail of one of Wong’s film scores — explores the intersection of melancholy and “joyful surrender.” Produced by Mary Timony (Ex Hex, Helium) and featuring performances from Timony, Mary Lattimore, Jon Natchez (War on Drugs), Craig Wedren (Shudder to Think) and Anna Waronker (that dog.) in addition to Drozd, Nite Creatures features “luxurious melodies” accompanying Wong’s deeply personal lyrics.
Nite Creatures is available via LP for pre-order via joewong.bigcartel.com. The first pressing of the album’s LP is officially sold out, with all profits from advance LP sales being donated to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
Photo by Sam Macon
