Chris Maxwell * Album Release Show * w/ Meg Lui – Woodstock, NY

Chris Maxwell * Album Release Show * w/ Meg Lui

FRI Sept 27th – EARLY Show

Doors 6pm | Show 7pm

CHRIS MAXWELL

Veteran singer-songwriter, acclaimed guitarist, and Clio-award-winning composer Chris Maxwell’s new album, Nothingland, illuminates a troubled, recognizable world. A distinctive mix of organic and synthetic sound, audio both familiar and oddball, propels Maxwell’s melodically rich, lyrically incisive observations of pandemic-induced chaos, political insanity, climate anxiety, and a vexing lack of drinking buddies.

Yet, in the face of lengthening shadows, Maxwell conjures humor and a daring romanticism, repeatedly circling back to ardor – for a friend, a partner, a world. Through songs both radio-ready and wildly unusual, where, say, a horn-laden 70s R&B pop groove is spiced with distorted electro beats (“Wish I Could See It Coming”), or an arena-worthy guitar solo snakes through garage-y fuzz (“Can’t Write You Into This Song”), love is balm, energy source, proof of something greater than the obvious.

Nothingland marks a departure from Maxwell’s previous two releases, released, like Nothingland, on Arkansas-based Max Recordings. The lauded, autobiographical Americana pair Arkansas Summer (2016) and New Store No. 2 (2020) comprised a return to the singer-songwriter realm after nearly twenty years as one half (with drummer/DJ Phil Hernandez) of record production/composer team Elegant Too, best known for their work on multi-Emmy-winning Bob’s Burgers. (Also Inside Amy Schumer, Silver Linings Playbook, as well as writing and producing for other artists such as They Might Be Giants, Yoko Ono and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.) It was the 2007 birth of his son that motivated Maxwell to re-assume the mantle of songwriter, harkening back to his days working with legendary producer Jim Dickinson in 80s power-pop band The Gunbunnies, and Grammy-nominated, art-damaged 90s NYC combo Skeleton Key. “I wanted my kid to know the stories,” says Maxwell. “For him, this is the book.”

Arkansas Summer and New Store No. 2 elicited praise from renowned authors Rick Moody (The Ice Storm), Robert Gordon (It Came From Memphis), and Jonathan Lethem (Fortress of Solitude), comedian Marc Maron, and music magazines Paste, American Songwriter, and Goldmine, to name a few.

About his pivot away from the confessional material on previous releases to the more experimental arrangements and broader themes of Nothingland, Maxwell says, “With my first two albums, I needed to place myself in a context – who I am, where I came from. Now that I’ve defined those things, I can move on, and talk about bigger picture stuff.”

In the uncomfortably revelatory time of covid, Maxwell felt the Earth shift, forcing his hand as a songwriter. “I couldn’t get over what was happening,” he says. “The paranoia, people believing such insane lies, the world on fire for real the whole time.”

For Nothingland, Maxwell enlisted producer-bassist Eli Crews (tUnE-yArDs, Nels Cline) and his hoard of vintage synthesizers. They assembled a stellar ensemble, including lap steel virtuoso Cindy Cashdollar, Wilco guitarist Nels Cline, and keyboard whiz Marco Benevento, to name a few.

The result is an album that masterfully interweaves old school and cutting-edge tech with classic, infectious songwriting and timeless themes; tunes sounding like nothing else you’ve heard, yet resonating in familiar rooms within. Chris Maxwell’s Nothingland is a harsh place we all know, but his work joyously reminds us it is no match for love.

MEG LUI

Meg Lui is a Northern California-born singer-songwriter now crafting her musical narrative in the Hudson Valley. With a penchant for crafting evocative lyrics and soulful melodies, Meg draws inspiration from ’90s icons like The Cranberries, Red Hot Chili Peppers, TLC, Sheryl Crow, and Bonnie Raitt. Her sound weaves together thoughtful songwriting and powerful vocals to create a unique sonic tapestry. She is currently working on a record and hopes to put it out early 2025.