The music video for her track “Patient Zero” was directed by Daniel Ralston, who says, “I believe 'Patient Zero' is a song about Hollywood disappointment. I wanted to make a video about the same thing, on a smaller scale. James Urbaniak plays The Dresser on a fictitious (but very serious) play called The Hermit. Bradley Whitford plays The Actor at the heart of the performance. The two men become friends, the Dresser is given a gift, their friendship ends. It's about being able to let go of the things we want but can't have.” The video also stars Mann, Matthew Weiner, Tim Heidecker and Rich Sommer as The Actor's Friends.
You can watch/share the video here: http://bit.ly/2lYt8GO
Mental Illness boasts an almost all-acoustic format, with a “finger-picky” style inspired by some of her favorite ‘60s and ‘70s folk-rock records, augmented by haunting strings arranged by her longtime producer, Paul Bryan. Additional players include: Jonathan Coulton on acoustic guitar and backing vocals, Jay Bellerose on drums, Jamie Edwards on piano, John Roderick as a co-writer and Ted Leo (who recently joined her in a joint side project, The Both) as a background singer.
On this eleven-track album, the Oscar-nominated, Grammy-winning singer remains a student of human behavior, drawing not just on her own experiences to form the characters in the songs but tales told by friends.
“I assume the brief on me is that people think that I write these really depressing songs,” Mann says. “I don’t know—people may have a different viewpoint—but that’s my own interpretation of the cliché about me. So if they thought that my songs were very down-tempo, very depressing, very sad, and very acoustic, I thought I’d just give myself permission to write the saddest, slowest, most acoustic, if-they’re-all-waltzes-so-be-it record I could…I mean, calling it Mental Illness makes me laugh, because it is true, but it’s so blunt that it’s funny.”
In support of the release, Mann confirms a headlining North American tour this spring, with stops in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia and more. Tickets can be purchased here:aimeemann.com/tour. See below for complete tour details.
After several albums with Til Tuesday, Mann began her solo career in 1993 with the album Whatever and made a name for herself through her independent success and the founding of her record label, SuperEgo Records. In addition to her solo albums, she has appeared on many film soundtracks, most notably the song score for Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia, with “Save Me” landing her Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Original Song.
In 2014, Mann joined up with Ted Leo for a more rock-oriented duo project, releasing a self-titled album under the name The Both. Other extracurricular activities since Charmer ranged from playing herself on the hit TV series Portlandia to performing for President Obama and the First Lady at the White House. Named one of The Huffington Post’s “13 Funny Musicians You Should Be Following On Twitter,” Mann has gained a diehard social media following for her quick wit and stinging observation.
Track listing:
Goose Snow Cone
Stuck In The Past
You Never Loved Me
Rollercoasters
Lies Of Summer
Patient Zero
Good For Me
Knock It Off
Philly Sinks
Simple Fix
Poor Judge
Tour dates:
April 20—Washington, DC—Lincoln Theatre
April 21—Philadelphia, PA—Keswick Theatre
April 22—New York, NY—The Town Hall
April 23—Boston, MA—The Wilbur Theatre
April 25—Albany, NY—The Egg Center For The Performing Arts
April 26—Toronto, ON—Danforth Music Hall
April 28—Ann Arbor, MI—The Ark
April 29—Chicago, IL—Park West
April 30—Milwaukee, WI—Pabst Theater
May 2—Madison, WI—Barrymore Theatre
May 3—Saint Paul, MN—Fitzgerald Theater
May 5—Boulder, CO—Boulder Theater
May 6—Salt Lake City, UT—The State Room
May 8—Missoula, MT—The Wilma
May 9—Seattle, WA—Neptune
May 10—Portland, OR—Revolution Hall
May 12—San Francisco, CA—The Fillmore
May 13—Los Angeles, CA—The Theatre at Ace Hotel
