Due out June 18, 2022 in record stores via Gibson Records/BMG
SLASH FT. MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS, (SMKC) recently wrapped their nationwide “The River Is Rising” U.S. tour with sold-out shows in support of their acclaimed new album 4–available everywhere now via Gibson Records/BMG. Today, the group has unleashed the official video for their second single, “April Fool.”
“I've got a lot of tapes of us jamming ‘April Fool’ at soundchecks without knowing where it would go, and although it took awhile to put together, it's a cool riff,” says SLASH. “The song really came together when we went into the studio, and it is one of the songs that Dave Cobb had a definite impact on. Certain key elements were missing in the demo, arrangement-wise, and he just went, ‘We'll connect that right there…’ And I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s a good idea!’ [laughs] Sometimes you just need that other person that you can trust musically. And if they have an idea, you can’t be too precious to try it.”
MYLES KENNEDY adds of the song, “It's one of my favorites. A really fun track. Lyrically it's about being played, and ultimately you realize you've had enough, and you decide you're going to have the last laugh in the end. That's where that line ‘I guess the jokes’ on you,’ comes into play. And Dave got his hands dirty on this one. He did some tweaking and suddenly it was like, ‘This is a lot better!’ We were really, really, happy with how it turned out.”
“April Fool” is impacting radio and follows the successful first single “The River Is Rising” which reached #7 on the Active Rock Charts, making it the band’s 8th, consecutive Top 10 hit single at radio. SMKC performed “The River Is Rising” which Rolling Stone hailed as “raucous” and Billboard described as “euphoric” with “a surging main riff, dissonant hooks, an infectious chorus, and a guitar solo that conjures images of a rowdy bar brawl” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! SLASH also spoke to host Jimmy Kimmel, HERE and appeared on the popular NPR show “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me!” for an interview with host Peter Sagal.
In other news, SMKC are set to release Live At Studios 60–their first-ever double live LP–which features band’s acclaimed new album 4, and four additional songs from the group, exclusively for
Record Store Day on June 18, 2022. Recorded live in Los Angeles at Studios 60, the SMKC Live At Studios 60 double LP Record Store Day release is limited to only 2250 copies. The full concert features SMKC’s vibrant new album 4 (Gibson Records/BMG)–which debuted as the #1 Most-Selling Hard Rock Album during release week and has earned the group the best critical acclaim of their career. Additional performances of the group’s Top 5 Rock Radio Hits including “You’re A Lie,” “World On Fire,” “Anastasia,” and “Driving Rain” are also included in the double vinyl package giving fans worldwide the chance to see SMKC’s electrifying live show.
A decade and four albums into their career, the new full-length album 4 marks the first new music from SMKC in four years, and SLASH’s fifth solo album overall. For the new album 4, SLASH and his bandmates MYLES KENNEDY (Vocals), BRENT FITZ (Drums), TODD KERNS (Bass & Vocals) and FRANK SIDORIS (Guitar & Vocals), partnered with producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, John Prine, Jason Isbell, Rival Sons), resulting in the band’s strongest collective statement to date. Recorded at RCA Studio A in Nashville, Tenn, Cobb shared the band’s desire to lay down the tracks live in the studio–including guitar solos and vocals–a first for the band, revealing a stunning, vital, sound and style all captured live. 4 is SMKC like you’ve never heard them before. A vibrant rock album fueled by memorable guitar hooks and compelling melodies, big choruses, and even bigger riffs, 4 hits on a wide range of sounds, styles, and moods in ten songs, and does it all with laser-sharp musical focus and a lightning-in-a-bottle sense of immediacy. The album kicks off with opening track “The River is Rising,” one of the band’s toughest and most dynamic compositions to date, unraveling via a menacing, tightly-coiled riff and deep-in-the-pocket groove. From the deliberate stomp rock of “Whatever Gets You By,” the bright-toned, heart-on-sleeve pop-rocker “Fill My World,” to the talk box-drenched guitar hooks of “C’est La Vie,” exotica-tinged psychedelic fever dream of “Spirit Love,” the anthemic swell of “The Path Less Followed,” to the cowbell-inflected boogie-shake of “Actions Speak Louder Than Words,” the grimy Aerosmith-esque funk of “April Fool,” to the rampaging attack of “Call Off the Dogs,” and climaxing with the epic, six minute album closer “Fall Back to Earth,” 4 is an album that grabs hold, and never lets go.
Creative Credits
- Image courtesy
- Gibson Records/Bmg Music
- Photography
- Austin Nelson
