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Philary (Alex Molini of Pile / Stove) Announces Full Length Debut “I Complain” + Shares “Smells Like Mean Spirit”

June 4, 2019
photo credit Kris Kuss & Matt Connery

PHILARY (ALEX MOLINI OF PILE, STOVE, JACKAL ONASIS, ETC) ANNOUNCES FULL LENGTH DEBUT “I COMPLAIN”

ALBUM OUT JUNE 28TH VIA EXPLODING IN SOUND RECORDS

Philary is sharing their proper debut single, “Smells Like Mean Spirit,” today with FLOOD Magazine. The solo project of Alex Molini (Pile, Stove, Jackal Onasis) and the sludge-pop fuzz of his debut album, I Complain, are both heavy and abrasive but filled with enormous melodies and dense hooks. Due out via Exploding In Sound Records on June 28th, FLOOD shared “Entirely more punishing than the ultimate anthem for a decade of apathy, the caustically heavy “Smells Like Mean Spirit” instead addresses a specific form of damaging antisocial behavior under a bass riff ripped from the depths of sludge metal’s finest.”

Molini has been a pivotal part of so many bands, and Philary is a chance for him to explore his songwriting, pulling from influences that include Torche, Future of the Left, and Spirit of the Beehive among others. Currently on tour in support of Pile’s Green and Gray (with Philary tour dates planned for this summer), Molini said of “Smells Like Mean Spirit”:

“its about trying to interject your own needs into a conversation and rather than achieving any sort of relatability, the person you’re talking to feels isolated and pushed aside. Which leads to feeling like a big dummy for justifying acting like a selfish fool in the name of asking for emotional support. I chose the specific title to aggressively convey the level of stupidity felt from a situation like this.”

PHILARY
I COMPLAIN
OUT JUNE 28TH (CS/MP3)
PRE-ORDER

1. the unclearness is very clear 
2. big big baby 
3. smells like mean spirit
4. the littlest mole 
5. same 
6. lost time 
7. clown man 
8. old leg 
9. foiled 
10. .gov 
11. yay, let’s all go

BIO:Philary’s full length debut, I Complain, began out of the motivation to continuously create, a desire encouraged by the hustle of Brooklyn, its artistic community, and beyond. ForAlex Molini (Pile, Stove, Jackal Onasis), making music is mental sustainability, whether he’s playing bass, guitar, keys, or sitting in the engineer seat. He’s made a large impact over the years, both behind the scenes and as one of the DIY community’s great utility musicians. Following an exercise in sad, slow, but thoughtful songwriting on his debut EP, Philary’s full length debut is pretty much its polar opposite, a raw and brutal eruption of heavy fuzz and alternative metal carnage.

Self recorded in his home studio (with drums recorded at Mike Thomas III’s Black Lodge in Brooklyn), Molini had a vision to create a pop album comprised of songs both as heavy and short as can be. Still packed with hooks (this is pop after all) and memorable riffs, there’s not a clean guitar in sight, a true accomplishment that happened on accident, but an accomplishment no less. The songs, almost entirely under the two minute mark, are sludgy and lumbering, but there’s an undeniable sense of fun and lightness to Molini’s songwriting, a balance in tone and personality.

Tackling a wide range of ideas in his lyrics among themes of anxiety and shifting relationships, Molini sings about everything from the legacy of his Grandmother (“Old Leg”) to the strange feelings that come with being a “full-time” musician (“The Unclearness Is Very Clear”). Lead single “Smells Like Mean Spirit” is a song about expressing your needs and in turn isolating yourself further from those you were trying to relate to. It’s the idea of looking for emotional support only to feel dumb for trying… because Molini feels dumb more often than most.

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