Greg Laswell, one of this year’s alt-rock favorites, is back with his latest album “Take a Bow.”
If you go
Greg Laswell with Jimmy Gnecco and Brian Wright
Where: Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel, 1353 H St. NE
When: 7:30 p.m. doors, 8:30 p.m. show Monday
Info: $12 in advance, $15 day of show; 202-388-7625; rockandrollhoteldc.com
The album comes after what he deemed something of a mental palate cleansing in the form of the 2009 EP “Covers,” which Filter magazine called one of the “10 Best of the Year.” “I was in a different place personally [during the writing and recording of his past albums). I was struggling through heartache,” Laswell said. “On this one, I was kind of out in the woods and that changed everything from the ground up.”
Laswell means that literally. He went to a rustic cabin outside of Flagstaff, Ariz., accompanied only by his dog, to write and record the songs that resulted in “Take a Bow.”
“I moved my whole recording studio there. I thought I would be there a few months and I stayed there five months,” he said. “It was a completely different way of life.”
Of course Laswell’s attitude had changed by then, too, and his new approach to issues worked themselves into the songs.
“They always say to write what you know. I certainly wrote about it [during the aftermath of a breakup] and that certainly wasn’t a fun time in my life,” he said. “I write songs that are very personal. It’s almost like a private note I’m passing in class and a teacher catches me. I just can’t help putting myself all the way into the song.”
That was also true when Laswell arrived in Flagstaff. Almost as soon as he arrived, Laswell dug in working on new songs and reimaging older songs that he had written, but stored away.
“The song ‘Marquee’ was one that I had for a whole and I kind of pulled it out of the vault and rewrote the lyrics,” he said. “The songs on the album are a little bit of everything.”
The result, Laswell said, is a group of songs that definitely sound different from his previous work. Although Laswell said he had previously been looped into the catchall category of singer/songwriter, he never felt that suited him. The songs on this latest album are certainly more aggressive in many ways than classic singer/songwriter tunes.
“I really never was just the guy with the guitar,” he said. “For the first time in my life, my music has some straight ahead happy songs. I can now take more of an objective view of heartache. But there are still quite a few sarcastic moments and parts that are tongue in cheek. I’m proud of that mix.”
