Dean Wareham shares Yesterday’s Hero (new solo album out 28th March)
DEAN WAREHAM
Shares new single “Yesterday’s Hero” – watch video
New solo album ‘That’s The Price of Loving Me’ out 28th March on Carpark
UK tour starts 1st April (full dates below)
“I was trying to write a song about this moment, leaders who talk peace but pursue war, and about how political rebels are vilified while they are alive, but become (yesterday’s) heroes once they are safely in the grave.”
With a career spanning decades – beginning with his seminal band Galaxie 500 and continuing with Luna and Dean & Britta – That’s The Price of Loving Me, marks Wareham’s fourth solo album. Recorded in just six days in the Eagle Rock neighbourhood of Los Angeles, the album marks his first collaboration with Kramer since Galaxie 500’s 1990 swan song, This Is Our Music.
The record features eight new Wareham songs alongside covers of Nico and Mayo Thompson. While traces of his past work with Kramer remain, the chord progressions and arrangements have grown more intricate, drawing inspiration from Bacharach, Gainsbourg, and Norma Tanega. Yet Wareham’s signature electric guitar stylings still anchor the songs—before he even opens his mouth, you can recognise his voice in the guitar lines. “Kramer insisted that I play all the guitars on this record,” says Wareham. “And we worked quickly. Kramer believes that two takes yield more treasure than twenty, and he always seems to have the song mapped out in his head right away.”
Kramer’s musical fingerprint is evident throughout, as he contributes acoustic and electric piano, pump organ, celeste, and various synthesisers. Britta Phillips (Luna, Dean & Britta) plays bass and provides backing vocals, while long-time collaborators Roger Brogan (Spectrum, Alison’s Halo) and Anthony LaMarca (The War on Drugs) handle drums. L.A. session cellist Gabe Noel joined for four tracks, arranging his parts on the spot without hearing a single note beforehand. Vocally, Wareham’s range is lower, closer, and more intimate than in 1990, and his lyrics strike a balance between melancholy and wit.
Reflecting on their collaboration, Kramer adds, “Thirty-four years is a long time. But I love Dean, so it was worth the wait. Going back into the studio with him felt like we’d never been apart. And when the work was done, I felt like it couldn’t have been better. There was a ‘full circle’ air around us that still lingers. I’m grateful for having been invited inside again, and for the emotional opportunities that a truly deep and personal collaboration can offer. It’s incredibly rare, and I’d be surprised if I feel anything even remotely like this again.”
Track list 2025 Tour dates
1. You Were the Ones I Had to Betray
2. Dear Betty Baby
3. Mystery Guest
4. New World Julie
5. We’re Not Finished Yet
6. Bourgeois Manqué
7. Yesterday’s Hero
8. That’s the Price of Loving Me
9. Reich der Träume
10. The Cloud is Coming
April 1, 2025 – Glasgow, UK @ The Garage
April 2, 2025 – Manchester, UK @ Band on the Wall
April 3, 2025 – Liverpool, UK @ Hangar 34
April 4, 2025 – Leamington, UK @ The Assembly
April 5, 2025 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
April 6, 2025 – Bristol, UK @ The Fleece
April 7, 2025 – London, UK @ 229
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