Andy Frasco & The U.N. have released their latest studio LP, L’Optimist, a collection of ten tracks that represent a step away from frivolity and toward sincerity for the party-starting “ringleader” and his swashbuckling band of road warriors.
While L’Optimist still shows some of the deft marketing savvy that has captured the attention of the live music circuit over the last several years—everyone’s got a birthday, and there are really only a handful of birthday songs like “Birthday Song” that pop up in searches when people go looking—but the material on L’Optimist finds Andy Frasco with newly developed perspective on life, love, and the pursuit of happiness that helps draw the emotional weight out of easily digestible concepts.
Pre-release single “You Do You” arrived alongside a music video in which Frasco dresses in drag, lending an added layer of lightheartedness and self-awareness to lyrics that invite you to cut yourself some slack and let yourself be happy (“If your day sucked and you wanna get drunk (If that’s what you wanna do)”]. Earnest pleas for love and acceptance wind their way through tracks like “Love All of Me” and “Lost and Found”, while songs like “Busted Nose”, “Nothing That I Wouldn’t Do”, and “Everything Bagel” reflect an earnestness of intention within his whimsical antics.
“Iowa Moon” is virtually free from tongue-in-cheek subtext, a straight singer-songwriter rumination on love that strips away the artifice of bravado to uncover some sentimental ground. It’s a new look for the man behind past songs like “Smokin’ Dope and Rock n’ Roll” and “Blame It On The Pussy”, but the vulnerability seems to suit him well.
The album’s final track, “Miss Getting High”, marries the Frasco of old and the Andy of the moment. Sure, it’s a song about getting stoned, but it’s also a song about growing up, learning about yourself, and figuring out how to bring the energy of the good old days into your present existence (“I miss getting high just to get high. Now, I have to get stoned just to get by. I used to just laugh, used to just live, never asked why, I miss getting high just to get high.”)
“With so much bad news in the world, why not try to figure out a way to get out of the darkness,” Frasco said of the album in a press statement. “We’re not going to be able to change the world, but at least we can change the mind state we have moving forward. We can at least help the process along by being optimistic that the future will turn itself around. And if everyone changes their mind state about the future, then maybe we can change the world.”
As always, Andy Frasco and company will remain on the road in the U.S. and Europe throughout the end of 2023 in support of the new album. Click below for a complete list of the band’s upcoming tour dates. For ticketing details, head here.
Stream or purchase the new Andy Frasco & The U.N. album, L’Optimist, on the platform of your choice here or listen via the Spotify player below. Scroll down to check out the previously released music videos for L’Optimist tracks “You Do You”, “Birthday Song”, and “Iowa Moon”.
Andy Frasco & The U.N. – L’Optimist – Full Album
Andy Frasco & The U.N. – “You Do You” (Official Video)
Andy Frasco & The U.N. – “Birthday Song” (Official Video)
Andy Frasco & The U.N. – “Iowa Moon” (Official Video)
The post Andy Frasco & The U.N. Revel In Personal Growth On New Album, ‘L’Optimist’ [Listen] appeared first on L4LM.
