Neil Hamburger records a concept musical album
Cult US comedian Neil Hamburger has released the second single from his concept album about ‘patrons trapped in an average chain-hotel’ over Christmas.
Sleeping For Free also features the vocals of Frank Sinatra’s granddaughter, AJ Lambert, the daughter of These Boots Are Made For Walking singer Nancy.
Record label Drag City say: ‘A silky LA production sound circa 1976 frames their complaints about the endless parade of noisy, smelly and non-paying guests with arch observations.’
The video, directed by Kent J Holmes, features Hamburger imprisoned within his budget hotel room, ‘tortured by cacophony that echoes through the paper-thin walls’
The track comes from the forthcoming album Seasonal Depression Suite, envisaged as a musical about characters ‘wallowing in self-pity and paranoia, re-living personal catastrophes both real and imagined, or simply trying to use the hotel vending machine’.
It follows the release of Maids Can't Mop Up Memories last month, performed by Puddles Pity Party:
Seasonal Depression Suite will be released on November 17, and Hamburger – real name Gregg Turkington – will be performing a gig at The Sugar Club in Dublin on November 10 to promote it.
He wrote the album with musician Erik Paparozzi, who plays on it and sings one of the tracks, I Can’t Pass it By. Other gues vocalists include Crowded House’s Neil Finn and Bow Wow Wow’s Annabella Lwin.
NEIL HAMBURGER – SEASONAL DEPRESSION SUITE TRACKLIST
You Have Arrived
Here Comes the Season Again (vocals: Neil Finn)
My Calendar Lied (vocals: Neil Hamburger)
It Felt Like A Dream (vocals: Annabella Lwin)
Maids Can’t Mop Up Memories (vocals: Puddles Pity Party)
Coming Apart at the Seams (vocals: Neil Hamburger)
I Passed It By (vocals: Erik Paparozzi)
Security Guard (vocals: Alan Bishop)
Screen Time (vocals: Neil Hamburger)
Cats and Dogs (vocals: Miranda Paparozzi)
Sleeping For Free (vocals: Neil Hamburger with A.J. Lambert)
The March (vocals: Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy)
If This Long Season (vocals: Neil. Hamburger)
Check Out Time is 11 A.M. (vocals: Natalie Peyser & J.P. Hasson)
Sugar Packets (vocals: Neil Hamburger)
Published: 27 Sep 2023