Enigmatic frontwoman M.D. Halas has assumed many incarnations—banshee, diva, soul siren, but GENTLEMEN GO, the first album from Tomorro Tomorro, reveals her true voice: torch songstress. Recorded and produced in 2011 by Chris Ruggiero (of Preservation Sound) and mixed by Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Hurray for the Riff Raff) in 2019, the record features live studio performances from beginning to end, where Halas dazzles amid a spectacular crew of players, including organist Jo Schornikow (Phosphorescent, The National), guitarist David Moltz (Nicole Atkins, Moonraker), percussionist John Panos (Mates of State, Free Energy), and a cameo by bassist Jack Lawrence (The Raconteurs). Combined with writing that “taps into stories about women unhinged, stories about women at the mercy of forces greater than themselves, stories about women taking life into their own hands, a broader experience of what it means to be a woman,” the result is a swelling, organ-drenched time capsule of ’60s studio craftsmanship that balances hope and heartbreak, faith and despair, liberation and guilt, all as it searches for peace of mind in a world with so little to offer. GENTLEMEN GO is both retro and forward-looking at the same time, a throwback slice of cosmic country and psychedelic gospel with a distinctly modern feminist edge that spoke to the anger, pain, and resiliency of the #MeToo movement long before the hashtag became a part of our national lexicon.

theshotentertainment

Popular tracks