S.Lo on April 2nd, 2019

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Joined by Alison Mosshart of the Kills, the virtuosos of Mini Mansions— frontman singer/guitarist Michael Shuman (Queens of the Stone Age, Wires on Fire), singer/keyboardist Tyler Parkford (Arctic Monkeys), bassist Zach Dawes (Last Shadow Puppets) and now also drummer Jon Theodore (Queens of the Stone Age, Mars Volta)– have hit it out of the park again in their latest single, “Hey Lover.”

Co-produced by Shuman and longtime collaborator and mixer Cian Riordan at Barefoot Studio, the song begins as a hilarious portrait of two lovers who’s relationship is on the skids with self and mutual loathing before sliding into a wall-clinging passion that could end tomorrow or last forever. It’s nevertheless a circus, as the synth accompaniment indicates in the pre-chorus with Mosshart and Shuman swapping exchanges beyond “Hey f*cker” to “If this is the end / How can we be sure that we found our everlasting love? / The things that we’ve said, our foot out the door / Don’t you know we’ve done this all before? Now we’re crying.” The payback for this heartache zeniths next in soaring harmony, “Cry-high…!” It’s like a cathartic yet beautiful tantrum.

“There’s nobody who could have serenaded, understood and matched the emotional jeopardy better than our good friend Alison Mosshart,” the band said on Facebook.

“I love doing collaborations with bands I love. Getting to dive in and explore another artist’s work,” said Mosshart. “When Mikey sent me ‘Hey Lover’ and asked if I wanted to sing on it, I was stoked. From first listen I wanted to hear it again and again. What I love about this song is that I’ve had this realistic lyrical conversation many times. We’ve all had this conversation many times. But it’s never sounded so beautiful. Usually it’s more of a gutter punk song. A lot of screaming and breaking things. Mini Mansions make foul play sound elegant. What a modern/old school music video, you know? My role in this video took approximately an hour (modern), 2 cigarettes and half a bottle of wine (old school). I am quite pleased with the results.”

The video’s DIY, low-fi, reality-show, confessional feel complete with bad tracking is right along the themes of Mini Mansions’ upcoming album, “Guy Walks Into a Bar…” (out July 26 on Fiction Records). Of the album title, Shuman says, “It started off as a joke because it is a joke. It’s a way to start off the story of a relationship that ends up getting much deeper… As serious as the songs get, we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We’re a fun band.” Added Dawes, “It just feels honest. It’s silly and playful and serious all at the same time.” “Hey Lover” is a great sample of the vulnerable tragi-comedy on the album, casual yet bold, done for and done in. The band will embark on a two-month U.K./U.S. tour in May and June. 

||| Watch: The video for “Hey Lover”

||| Also: Watch the video for “Gummy Bear”

||| Live: Mini Mansions will play the Constellation Room at the Observatory OC on June 27 (Tickets) and the Teragram Ballroom on June 28 (Tickets).

||| Previously: “Gummy Bear” (stream), “Works Every Time,” live at Hollywood Forever, “Double Visions,” “Freak Out!,” live at the Troubadour, “Any Emotions,” “Death Is a Girl”