Mark Fredson Announces Debut Solo Album

By: Feb. 14, 2020
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Mark Fredson Announces Debut Solo Album

Mark Fredson has announced his solo debut album Going to the Movies will release on May 15. A full-bodied, cinematic spectacle, Going to the Movies showcases a mix of straight-faced sincerity and super-sized swagger, resulting in a pop/rock opera of sorts. Fredson has also shared "To The Moonlight", the jealousy-fueled debut single featuring his dark, evocative vocals and a raging saxophone solo. Accompanying the track is a gripping, Stanley Kubrick-style video, with a lead character who unravels in real time before a major confrontation.

Listen below!

"'To The Moonlight' is about that moment when you're completely consumed in the ashes of a break up and you tell yourself what you need to try and move on. But in reality, you're kind of obsessed with the darkness of it all, and you refuse to see the light at the end of the tunnel," explains Fredson. "I wanted to make the video a cross between Drive, Taxi Driver and Stanley Kubrick movies, where the lead character reaches the peak of their derangement and then all bets are off."

Mark Fredson is no stranger to the spotlight, having landed his first record deal in high school as one of the founding members of The Lonely H. The group built a reputation as true road warriors, playing 200 shows a year, but after 10 years, four studio albums and a relocation to Nashville, they decided to call it quits. Fredson ventured out on his own, diversifying his sound while collaborating with artists including Caitlin Rose, Erin Rae and Margo Price, with whom he co-wrote her breakout hit "Hurtin' On The Bottle". Serving as a one-man multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and visionary of the sound that had been filling his head, the experience turned Fredson into the commanding frontman he is today.

Going to the Movies is a triumphant resurrection for Mark Fredson, who has a knack for turning universal misfortunes into catchy, bright pop songs. Managing to be both over-the-top and completely genuine at once, the meticulously crafted new album explores all facets of the human experience, including romance in the modern age, the depths of paranoia and living in a voyeuristic society. Musically, Fredson offers a fresh approach to the influences of another era, injecting neon-lit, hook-driven melodies with infectious piano, bubbling guitars, pounding drum machines and thick synthesizers, all held together by his expressive, powerhouse vocals.

Every bit as histrionic and captivating as the showmen of rock & roll's past, Mark Fredson has developed a sound uniquely his own. Featuring the power-pop, warm weather-anthem "Bitchin' Summer", the syncopated, driving handclaps in "Casual and Calculated" and the ambivalent satire of "Thoughts and Prayers", the new album is an unmatched collection of songs that defies time or place. "Going to the Movies sounds very 2020, but it can also take you back to an earlier time," says Fredson. "It bridges a solid gap between two worlds. Regardless of the different iterations of music I've played in the past, there's nothing in the world that's more representative of me as a person than what you hear here."



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