Stream: Har Mar Superstar, ‘How Did I Get Through the Day?’

Kevin Bronson on April 12th, 2016

0

Har Mar Superstar’s music has ranged from torch songs to lascivious rave-ups to dyed-in-the-leisure-suit disco, and over the course of 15-plus years, the man born Sean Tillman has wedded his pop craft to unapologetically outlandish, sweaty and celebratory live shows. Tillman’s insouciant explorations have manifested themselves in many personas (Sean Na Na, Gayngs, Neon Neon, Calvin Krime) and through many collaborations, all building his (some would say overdue) cred as a songwriter. The onetime mainstay of the L.A. scene moved back to his native Minnesota a couple of years ago (Sept. 20, 2013, was “Har Mar Superstar Day” in Minneapolis), where he says he is most creative. And this week he releases his sixth album, “Best Summer Ever,” the follow-up to 2013’s well-regarded “Bye Bye 17.” It’ll be out on Julian Casablancas’ Cult Records — and it includes “Youth Without Love,” a Casablancas demo that was retooled for the album. Other writers/co-writers on the album includes Karen O, Matt Sweeney, James Levy and Bobby Charles, and Har Mar is touring it with a six-piece band complete with horns. Overall, it’s a soulful cocktail made all the more potent by Tillman’s reverence (and sometimes irreverence) for all pop idoms. The summer party is on.

||| Stream: “How Did I Get Through the Day?,” “Anybody’s Game” and “Youth Without Love” (or stream the whole album here)