Neal Francis has shared his new EP, Sentimental Garbage, available now via ATO Records at all DSPs and streaming services.
Sentimental Garbage–which follows last year’s breakthrough sophomore LP, In Plain Sight (ATO)–collects a number of standout tracks recorded during the original album sessions at The Parsonage, Francis’s DIY studio at St. Peter’s Church in Chicago, IL. Highlights include the previously unheard “In Plain Sight.”
“A song of reconciliation and reckoning,” says Neal Francis of “In Plain Sight.” “The song takes account of how much I loved a past partner and acknowledges how I had hurt them. Also an examination of my tendencies and a contemplation of how technology is influencing my behavior.”
Sentimental Garbage also includes such recently premiered tracks as the emotionally charged “Don’t Want You To Know,” the horn-blasted “Very Fine, Pts. 1 & 2,” and a hypnotic cover of Shuggie Otis’ classic, “Strawberry Letter 23.” The latter two tracks had their exclusive premiere via Rolling Stone Country, which wrote, “Francis’s rendition of ‘Strawberry Letter 23’ evokes the Seventies charm of the disco-tinged single — a Top 5 hit for the Brothers Johnson in 1977 — and dazzles with a psychedelic mid-song breakdown.”
“Sentimental Garbage was the working title of our last LP,” Francis says, “which includes the track of the same name. We ended up calling that record In Plain Sight while removing the title track from the sequence. I knew this was my last chance to slap Sentimental Garbage on a record jacket, the thought of which always brought me great joy. It also works because this record is compiled of bittersweet scraps. I guess we could have also titled the record Burnt Ends.”
Sentimental Garbage continues what has already proven a milestone 2022 for the Chicago, IL-based Francis, with highlights including a prestigious Americana Music Association Honors & Awards nomination (for “Emerging Act of the Year”), a benefit single with Wilco featuring a live collaboration on their classic “Theologians,” and debut live appearance on CBS Saturday Morning performing the In Plain Sight highlight, “Can’t Stop The Rain.”
