The Witzard Premier: WEEKENDS Multi-instrumentalist Adam Lempel Tunes AM Rock Radio to Folky Indie Rockin' "Don't Know Why" (Friends Records)
"Adam Lempel started making solo records as a departure from his work in Baltimore Noise Rockers WEEKENDS. Focusing more on songwriting and heartfelt lyrics, his first record Adam Lempel & The Heartbeats stood out in the Baltimore DIY music scene because it was so unapologetically straight-forward. After getting into the Conservatorium van Amsterdam to study classical music composition, he moved to Amsterdam where he currently lives," reads a brief description attached to Baltimore by way of Amsterdam multi-instrumentalist Adam Lempel's about me page. Lempel and his noisy partner-in-crime, Brendan Sullivan quietly put out three guitar feedback-drenched albums and and aptly-titled Acoustic Tape, Vol. 1 between 2008-2013; right on the cusp of Indie Rock's frenzied WEEKENDS/Weekend/The Weeknd mass confusion felt echoed across the blogosphere. However, WEEKENDS have been on an indefinite hiatus since the majority of copies of their then-forthcoming third album, "NEW HUMANS" (2013) were suddenly lost when an auto body shop, which co-existed as a makeshift "art gallery, practice space, and much more" tragically burned to the ground. Adam Lempel has released a number of rather subdued and stripped down solo releases including Instrumentals, Adam Lempel & The Heartbeats, and 80's-tinged Adam Lempel & The Casiobeats, as well as a number of self-released projects and EP's during the Noise-Rock duo's still unspecified break.
"Hey Matt, here's the video for the first single off Still Life called "Don't Know Why." I made it edited it myself and it was shot by Juliet Altonen... Still Life will be out the last week of February on Friends Records," Lempel wrote within a recent email sent over the holidays; as he's briefly returned home from The Netherlands, where he's currently perusing a masters degree in music design, to kick off the roll-out for his soon forthcoming third solo album, Still Life. Adam Lempel has given me the great honor to officially premier his self-edited music video for lead single, "Don't Know Why." It reminds me of a unique blend of Folk-indebted Indie Rock and 1950's AM Radio Rock "N" Roll akin to Buddy Holly & The Crickets, Elvis Presley, Bill Haley & His Comets, etc. which seemingly fits the bill, as Lempel's previous Heartbeats-backed album was befittingly tagged as "alternative baltimore folk pop rock singer songwriter." While additional release details are currently sparse, Adam Lempel has personally assured me that Friends Records expects to release Still Life sometime during the last week of February and it "features vocals from fellow musician, Amanda Glasser." I'm able to additionally report that Lempel and WEEKENDS co-founder Brendan Sullivan have a stockpile of unreleased recordings; however, it's unclear as to what exactly Friends Records ultimately plans to do with it.