Brontez Purnell announces new album ‘Confirmed Bachelor’

Brontez Purnell has been making music since the ‘90s. The Southern-raised, Oakland-based musician and writer has centred his queerness and Blackness in the punk/electro-clash band, Gravy Train!!!! and The Younger Lovers, as well as in his award-winning books, 100 Boyfriends and Since I Laid My Burden Down.

Hot on the heels of recent 7” singles for Sub Pop, PPM and his first solo electronic record No Jack Swing, Brontez returns in DIY-punk band formation for a new album entitled Confirmed Bachelor out 15th September on Upset The Rhythm. These 12 songs are of the no-time-wasted variety. Fuzzed-out pop songs, hotly delivered from the heart – often sassy, sometimes sappy and always snappy!

Today, Brontez shares the first taster of the album, a cover of a long-loved Julie Ruin song. On the album, “Stay Monkey” is paired with “‘No Cigarettes”, a pulse-grabbing rally of unadorned declarations split in two directions. Today we’re sharing “Stay Monkey” as lively and swaggering as it is lovelorn and restless, the perfect bubblegum pop song reflected in a grazed mirror of grunge.

Purnell says, “I remember I sang ‘Stay Monkey’ by Julie Ruin for my high school chorus class and this one girl who only listened to Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan was like “OMG this song is so amazing” and I was like “oh shit is this a cross over pop hit ?!” (This was 1997). I’m 40 now so I covered it.  Also, I’m the (Rogue) King of Rock n Roll.”

The single will be available on all DSP’s from tomorrow – https://linktr.ee/upsettherhythm

Pre-order Confirmed Bachelor HERE

Raised in Alabama, Purnell moved to the Bay Area in the early 2000’s to become an aspiring dancer, writer, and musician. The sound of The Younger Lovers takes a foot hold from his love of melody based rock forms – indie, blues, garage, surf, riot-grrrl, soul and punk – distilling them into a singularity of sound that is as unique as it is audacious. When Purnell joined the ranks of Gravy Train!!!!, he toured alongside the likes of Le Tigre, ESG and Bratmobile.

“Bachelor’s Theme” opens the album and sets the scene perfectly with the heady rush and swoon of it all. Jagged riffs, bubblegum bounce and Brontez’s vocals effortlessly racing to dizzying effect. It’s a tour de force of bop and bravado. This is what the album does so well, it sweeps you off your feet, making its lyrical disclosures all the more affecting.

Confirmed Bachelor is a hot wonder, upbeat, witty and ever-lively only with a forlorn core, a resolute focus and defiant honesty. It’s a rare triumph, a record you can dance your Friday night away to, whilst the songs subtly work on your emotions from the inside out.

Brontez Purnell’s band includes the multifaceted talents of Vice Cooler (who also produced and mixed the album), Sean Teves (The Younger Lovers) on drums, Kevin Preston (Prima Donna, Green Day) on guitar, Aaron Minton (Prima Donna) on piano and saxophone, and Laena Myers-Ionita on violin.

Confirmed Bachelor Tracklist:

1. Bachelor’s Theme
2. Hey Boy
3. Sky Opens Up
4. That Boy Is A Dead Cruiser
5. Hellish Banger
6. Bragging Party
7. Boy With Butterfly Wings
8. Winner Takes Nothing
9. Rude Life
10. No Cigarettes / Stay Monkey
11. Shaboole