The Skygreen Leopards Return With Gorgeous Johnny LP

  

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Know this: The Skygreen Leopards are alive and well. And core members Donovan Quinn and Glenn Donaldson still wander the magical streets of a San Francisco that we regular folk will never know. Now, the band has delivered Gorgeous Johnny (released July 21), a shimmering, sunny record for those who choose to dwell in the soft shadows and move by the moonlight.

“Gorgeous” Johnny was a fringe member of the Skygreen Leopards in the group's early days; he didn’t really play anything but neither could anyone else. Described by most as a phony and a self-confessed dandy, the band kept him around for his undeniable fashion sense. He would often quote Coco Chanel’s views on Modernism and affected a British accent, though he was from Orange County. This was a huge influence on the Donaldson/Quinn songwriting team. Eventually he moved to the South of France and no one's heard from him since, except for a postcard that read: I’M STILL IN THE VAN! MUCH LOVE, JOHNNY. Anyway, his name's not really Johnny – that’s just a dick joke.

It's been 8 years since the first SGL's record was released. Since then, the boys have maintained their singular aesthetic while managing to dabble with faux-folk, avant garde pop, reverb-drenched lo-fi psychedelia, plastic country and blurry ballads. This latest effort finds them in collaborating with Jason Quever (Papercuts) to create a melancholy world with itinerant dandies, urban streets, suburban teens and more girls' names than I care to count, all set to melodic shuffles featuring harmonies, frail pianos and romantic guitars. First mp3 "Dixie Cups In the Dead Grass" feels like the 4th of July during a mid-summer drought -- and then, the first rainstorm in weeks finally breaks loose on your backyard soiree.

MP3 of "Dixie Cups In The Dead Grass"

As always with the Leopards, the rhythms refuse to be bridled, the boys resist the urge to jam, and they won't ever learn to sing properly. This will frustrate the expectations of some. Others will find a sweet shadowy hiding place in these songs -- 3 minutes to hang out with girls who race horses, boys who never learned to dance and a dirty uncle who steals your cigarettes.

Gorgeous Johnny Tracklist:
Johnny's Theme
Margery
Dixie Cups In the Dead Grass
SGL's, et al
Can Go Back
Goodnight Anna
Jehovah Will Never Come
Gorgeous Johnny
Inland Towns
Nine Car Train For Fremont
Robber's Lace
In Our Love Fails
Paid By The Hour

At the moment, SGL's have a pair of shows lined up in San Fran, including a record release show on July 11. See the dates below and check the Jagjaguwar tour page for a SGL tour that's in the works as we speak.

The Skygreen Leopards Live Dates

6/27 San Francisco, CA - The Hemlock Tavern w/ White Hinterland
7/11 San Francisco, CA - Amnesia, Record Release Party