Shoes' Gary Klebe Shares New Song 'Room To Breathe'
(MPG) Gary Klebe of the pioneering power pop band Shoes releases the propulsive new single "Room To Breathe" from his upcoming debut solo LP Out Loud, which arrives on April 17 via Black Vinyl Records. The song kicks off the new record with an immediate sense of urgency as the narrator comes to the realization that something in his life needs to change, and only he can enact it for himself.
On the new single, Klebe shares: "I've always had a thing for raw, distorted power chord riffs melded with contrasting pop melodies. This is about a guy who has reached his tipping point. He believes that change for the sake of change may be his last chance for escape and resurrection. He finally realizes that decisions shouldn't be made by not making them. With a sense of urgency, he knows the time for action is in the here and now. Gotta go. Gotta run. Gotta fly out of here."
In stark contrast to his work with the cult favorite group, this upcoming record is more than just Klebe's first solo album, it's a one-man operation, written alone and tracked almost entirely without outside help. Serving as his own engineer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, Klebe recorded Out Loud on nights and weekends, following his work on the most recent album by Shoes. Drums were tracked in Nashville with John Richardson (Gin Blossoms, Badfinger, Tommy Keene, Shoes), but the rest of Out Loud came together in Klebe's basement studio, largely recorded with his favorite stompboxes and vintage gear from his vast collection.
While making music without his longtime collaborators wandered into unfamiliar territory for Klebe, the finished product is expertly crafted power pop akin to the songs that made Shoes such a well-regarded, influential and ahead-of-its-time band. From the LP, Klebe has already shared the melody-driven, guitar-heavy first single "Not Tough Enough" which Stereogum lauded as "...a timeless power-pop song, a crisp and propulsive hook-machine that could've plausibly been written at any point over the past 50 years."
Shoes is still making music, over 50 years since their inception. They've gone through many phases and iterations - from recording their 1977 breakthrough Black Vinyl Shoes in the band's own living room (predating the DIY approach of the punk movement) to a major-label run on Elektra for a period of time in the '70s and '80s. There is still more new Shoes music to come, but for now, Klebe has made an album that bridges the past and the present with the newfound vulnerability that comes with going at it alone.
Out Loud Tracklist
1. Room To Breathe
2. Not Tough Enough
3. Love Beyond
4. Wrong All Along
5. Eyes Open Wide
6. Shake Me
7. No Afterglow
8. Bridges Are Burned
9. Won't Quit On You
10. Invading My Space
11. In A Heartbeat
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