Post-genre power trio, mssv – featuring Stephen Hodges (Tom Waits, Mavis Staples, David Lynch) and Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE, Stooges) alongside bandleader, Mike Baggetta – have announced their new album, On And On. It comes out on Big Ego Records on 12” LP vinyl, digital download and streaming services on Friday, March 7, and features artwork by John Herndon (Tortoise). The following week, the band kick off a huge live schedule throughout the US, UK, and Ireland. Keep reading to find out more.
On And On features brand new songs that were written by Baggetta before their 58-show 2023 US tour and performed every night, recorded and produced by Chris Schlarb at Big Ego Studio in Long Beach, CA immediately after. Featured in the works on this album is a band-improvised song and, on the vinyl issue only, six more band-improvised interludes. These improvised, then recomposed, instrumentals had their parts recorded separately by each member, then edited down, recombined and recomposed by Baggetta. They serve as an important connective tissue between the songs on each side, turning On And On into an exciting and trippy psychedelic fever dream of a concept album. This serves to really bring out the story of On And On: at its heart it is an album where all the works combine to create an endless episodic journey through the temporal and seemingly fleeting nature of society, personality, music, and life and death on Earth, only to realize that all of these are also endlessly repeating.
Seven of the eight new songs feature vocals from Baggetta, now much more comfortable in his vocal role from the previous mssv album Human Reaction. The wordcraft heard here in On And On goes a lot deeper than his previous lyric writing, while still remaining wholly individual in its exploratory playfulness. The subject matter here, while being universally relatable, is rife with personal references, stories of his and the band’s friends and relationships, and one song “Despair & Hilarity” including lyrics written by one of Baggetta’s most important musical collaborators Steve Gigante (7 Year Rabbit Cycle, W-S Burn, THETEETHE).
Continuing to explore the seemingly endless depths of Hodges’ and watt’s musicianship and skill over the many tours and albums in mssv has grown an instantly identifiable sound from Baggetta’s songwriting for this band. But the trust that has formed between them, that comes from long-running musical partnerships, has also made it possible for mssv to explore more interesting ways to incorporate improvised music into the lives of their songs, innovating their music in new ways while still keeping the fearless nature of each musician and this band fully intact. On And On skillfully combines all of these elements into a newly evolved lens for the music of mssv, deftly displayed in this album as a high concept love letter to everyday life.
mssv tour:
mar 13 – thu – san pedro, ca – the sardine
mar 14 – fri – costa mesa, ca – the wayfarer
mar 15 – sat – joshua tree, ca – giant rock meeting room
mar 16 – sun – phoenix, az – cibo
mar 17 – mon – silver city , nm – whiskey creek zocalo
mar 18 – tue – albuquerque, nm – guild cinema
mar 19 – wed – albuquerque, nm – guild cinema
mar 20 – thu – lubbock, tx – co-opt
mar 21 – fri – oklahoma city, ok – resonant head
mar 22 – sat – dallas, tx – the wild detectives
mar 23 – sun – san antonio – the corn pound
mar 24 – mon – houston, tx – continental club
mar 25 – tue – baton rouge,la – mid-city ballroom
mar 26 – wed – jackson, ms – end of all music
mar 27 – thu – birmingham, al – saturn
mar 28 – fri – tallahassee, fl – the bark
mar 29 – sat – orlando, fl – will’s pub
mar 30 – sun – gainesville, fl – loosey’s
mar 31 – mon – savannah, ga – el rocko lounge
apr 1 – tue – charlotte, nc – snug harbor
apr 2 – wed – greensboro, nc – flatiron
apr 3 – thu – washington, dc – pearl street
apr 4 – fri – philadelphia, pa – solar myth
apr 5 – sat – Kingston, ny – tubbys
apr 6 – sun – new york, ny – mercury lounge
apr 7 – mon – east providence, ri – myrtle
apr 8 – tue – keene, nh – nova arts
apr 9 – wed – winooski, vt – the monkey house
apr 10 – thu – syracuse / ithaca, ny – TBD
apr 11 – fri – buffalo, ny – mohawk place
apr 12 – sat – pittsburgh, pa – mr smalls funhouse
apr 13 – sun – cleveland, oh – beachland tavern
apr 14 – mon – columbus, oh – ace of cups
apr 15 – tue – Indianapolis, in – state street pub
apr 16 – wed – chicago – hideout
apr 17 – thu – madison, wi – gamma ray
apr 18 – fri – st paul, mn – turf club
apr 19 – sat – iowa city, ia – gabes
apr 20 – sun – kansas city, mo – recordbar
apr 21 – mon – omaha, ne – reverb lounge
apr 22 – tue – wichita, ks – fisch haus
apr 23 – wed – eureka springs, ar – chelsea’s
apr 24 – thu – tulsa, ok – the shrine
apr 25 – fri – amarillo, tx – golden light
apr 26 – sat – Santa Fe, nm – cocoon
apr 27 – sun – flagstaff, az – orpheum theater
apr 28 – mon – las vegas, nv – the griffin
apr 29 – tue – bakersfield, ca – bakersfield sound co.
apr 30 – wed – sacramento, ca – torch club
may 1 – thurs – arcata, ca – miniplex
may 2 – fri – san francisco, ca – bottom of the hill
may 3 – sat – los angeles, ca – zebulon
may 29 – thu – brighton, uk – prince albert
may 30 – fri – ramsgate, uk – ramsgate music hall
may 31 – sat – southampton, uk – suburbia
jun 1 – sun – cardiff, uk – psych & noise fest
jun 2 – mon – liverpool, uk – acoustic room coffee
jun 3 – tue – manchester, uk – gulliver’s
jun 4 – wed – glasgow, uk – òran mór
jun 5 – thu – belfast, uk – voodoo
jun 6 – fri – waterford, ie – bank lane
jun 7 – sat – kilkenny, ie – cleeres
jun 8 – sun – dublin, ie – the grand social
jun 10 – tue – newcastle, uk – cluny 2
jun 11 – wed – hebden bridge, uk – trades club
jun 12 – thu – bristol, uk – exchange
jun 13 – fri – reading, uk – face bar
jun 14 – sat – london, uk – the lexington
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