Bobo, Harlan T.

Bobo, Harlan T.

Porch Songs

Goner

Too enigmatic, too laconic, and too careless about the music biz to gain fame outside of his adopted homes in Tennessee and France, Harlan T Bobo is a rare bird – a soulful, comedic, yet vicious and wholly underrated singer-songwriter, a divorced single father who seems happiest when he’s most dissolute. Porch Songs, the long-awaited next chapter in Bobo’s discography, will be released on Goner Records on August 5, 2022. Everything, and nothing, has changed: Bobo’s painfully sharp lyrics and graveled delivery are omnipresent. He still deals in unvarnished, uncomfortable truths about love. His wearied worldview, revered by his listeners, has further ossified on Porch Songs, which abounds with sad titles, worn out lyrics, and tunes about departed friends, such as “Fan,” which unravels Bobo’s memories of the late Shawn Cripps. Despite the sparse melancholy that clouds most of the album’s 13 tracks, Porch Songs is no downer. Instead, it bristles with energy, sounding like a beyond-the-grave gift bestowed on Bobo from the ghosts of Waylon Jennings, Lou Reed, and Leonard Cohen. Bobo laughs when offered the comparison. “They may be mildly derivative of those people, but they’re not that good.” Listeners will disagree. Take “Worry,” the opening song: it unwinds like Jennings’ early outlaw country tune “The Taker,” with a similar wry sentimentality that underwrites the folly of failed love. Bobo’s commiseration on the song sounds close-up and confidential, as if he’s telling his story to the stranger on the next barstool. “Satisfaction,” “Prey,” and “Fan,” on the other...

Bobo, Harlan T.

A History Of Violence

Goner

Once the intro to opener “Human” gives way to its fully-realized sonic purpose, it’s obvious that Harlan T. Bobo’s fourth proper album, A History of Violence, is quite different from his previous body of work. The classic historical emotional heft of a songwriter trying to make sense of life’s chaos—think mid-’70s Lou Reed, especially Coney Island Baby—is a thread running through the album’s mid-tempo tracks like “Human” and the miniature literary tragedy that is “Nadine.” The punchier tracks on the album, like “Spiders,” conjure very early Green On Red, what X’s mid-’80s output could have been, or even the roots-rock tendencies of overlooked genius Cass McCombs. This album highlights Bobo’s whiskey-and-cigarette-informed vocal style, and on the more intimate tracks, a distorted ear candy that warbles into increasingly sunken, uncomfortable places, like that of the songwriter with which comparisons have followed Bobo throughout his career: the late Leonard Cohen. But there is a richer canvas on which to work this time out, not to mention a decidedly heavier and darker one. The album was recorded in Memphis with Doug Easley, who has previously worked with Cat Power, Pavement, Wilco, Sonic Youth, Jon Spencer, and Jeff Buckley. Bobo also brought in Steve Selvidge (The Hold Steady, Bash & Pop) on bass and Jeff “Bunny” Dutton (Action Family) on guitar, along with regular contributors Jeff Bouck (Polyphonic Spree) and Brendan Spangler (Viva l’American Death Ray). The result is a naturally dynamic album that seems equally at home with howling guitars and heavy bass...

Bobo, Harlan T.

Too Much Love - 10th Anniversary Edition

Goner

Goner Records is proud to present a special tenth anniversary edition of the Too Much Love CD from Memphis artist and musician Harlan T. Bobo (Viva L’American Death Ray Music). Featuring backing musicians from members of The Reigning Sound, Fuck, and Viva L’American Death Ray Music, Too Much Love was recorded at Easley McCain Studio. Upon its release, the album was hailed as the best Memphis record of the last five years by the city’s Memphis Flyer. Find out for your own self.

Bobo, Harlan T.

Sucker

Goner

"I've been duped by my biology," 43-year old Harlan T. Bobo says of Sucker, his third album for Goner Records. If Too Much Love, Bobo's solo debut, chronicled the dissolution of a soul-wrenching relationship, and his second album, I'm Your Man, captured the fits, starts and relapse of post-breakup emotions, Sucker narrates the life of a man who is, in his own words, "settling down." Despite the new album's tongue-in-cheek title, the dark confessional style that pervades I'm Your Man is largely replaced with a lighter attitude. Anguish gives way to an almost upbeat angst, and the gloom-and-doom allure of temporary romances is overcome by true love. On "Sweet Life," the opening track, the typically enigmatic Bobo unabashedly reminisces about traveling with--and wooing--Anne Ciriani, who would ultimately become his wife and the mother of his son, Nino. "The first time she broke my nose with a rum bottle, I knew it was love," Bobo says. The break-neck "Crazy with Loneliness" and the humorously meditative "Selfish Life" document his mental shift, while "Energy," "Drank," and "Mlle. Chat" record the physical adjustments he's made as the husband of a Frenchwoman who owns her own ice cream shop in Argeles, which Bobo describes as "the white trash camping spot of Europe." Occasionally, Bobo veers away from the fairytale to serve up alternate storylines, such as the frantic, Jerry Lee Lewis-meets-Television "Errand Girl," or "Hamster in a Cage," a sordid, yet beautifully written song about his short-lived Hollywood hustle. "Having a wife and a...

Bobo, Harlan T.

I’m Your Man

Goner

***BACK IN STOCK!!! Even after his debut release, Too Much Love, captured the imagination of Memphis’ music lovers, HARLAN T. BOBO still remains a mystery. Instead of shedding light on the man behind the music, his intensely personal lyrics have actually served to help perpetuate his enigmatic persona. However, with his sophomore album, I’m Your Man, one thing about Harlan is clear—his musical talent is the real thing. Eleven tracks of post-breakup emotion delivered in a range of musical styles. Received an awesome 8.1 rating from Pitchfork.

Bobo, Harlan T.

Too Much Love

Goner

Memphis artist and musician HARLAN T. BOBO (VIVA L’AMERICAN DEATH RAY MUSIC) delivers a grinding new album of swamp-fired soul. Backed by members of THE REIGNING SOUND, FUCK, and VLADRM, and recorded at Easley McCain Studio, Too Much Love is already being hailed as the best Memphis record of the last five years by the city’s Memphis Flyer. Find out for your own self.