Belaver shares music video for “70’s Adventure” & announces new LP; Lain Prone is due Oct. 22 via Niles City Records
Belaver vs. Robert Ellis: Old friends go head-to-head on a choose your own adventure-style flexi-postcard and are playing dueling acoustic sets across Texas, July 29-30
[click here to purchase a flexi-postcard single]
VIDEO: “70’s Adventure” –
YouTube / Streaming Services
“70’s Adventure,” the new single from wry and romantic, master deprecator, Belaver, follows two lovers – a cheeky, cockeyed Bonnie and Clyde as they raise minor hell in creek-washed clothes, screwing with each other, and surviving off of farm fresh, stolen produce. Until it ends, like most of our favorite crushing romantic tragedies: stolen girl → insurance sales → follow the banks of the water ‘til the depths decide your fate.
As with many of Belaver’s lyrics, the song is light vs. dark: cynic-optimism or clear-eyed skepticism, gaining him comparisons to other paced and solemn wits like David Berman and Will Oldham.
Along with this new single/video comes the announcement of Belaver‘s new LP, Lain Prone, which is due October 22nd on Robert Ellis’ new label, Niles City Records. Belaver (Ben Godfrey) and Robert Ellis, met during the early 2000s Houston DIY scene – playing on each other’s records, touring in broken-down VW buses, and producing shows, like the infamous “Houston woods party.” This will be the first release from Niles City Records, a new concept by Ellis and producer, Josh Block (Leon Bridges, White Denim), that aims to bring to light exceptional but sometimes overlooked talent.
“Part of what makes Belaver’s music great is that it’s irreverent but the joke’s not on the listener. It’s not exclusionary,” says Ellis.
In the spirit of musical family collaboration, Ellis produced the song (and Belaver’s forthcoming Lain Prone LP). Ellis’s wife, Erica Silverman (dir. Gregg Allman, Leon Bridges, Avril Lavigne, Plato III), directed the video, which stars Godfrey, canoeing through a hilarious and absurd pastiche of sepia-toned, backyard, green-screen magic.
“70’s Adventure” is being released as a pack of two flexi-postcard discs – the grooves printed into glossy cardboard stock (who’s ever heard of that?!) – with Belaver playing on one disc and Ellis covering the song on the other.
“The idea behind the label is doing stuff guerrilla, like the old days,” explains Ellis. “This venture is all about collaboration. You don’t have to put out tons and tons of records and hope something sticks. We just want to focus on making good art.”
As for why he decided to cover “70’s Adventure” for this release, Ellis jokes, “I love Belaver’s version, but I just thought I could do it better. Let’s circle back to me, here.”
“At the core of every song on Lain Prone is the live performance,” says Ellis. “One thing that’s telling is that there are mistakes all over the record. To Ben’s credit, most people aren’t willing to do that. It’s something that makes it sound energetically good.”
Catch Belaver opening for Robert Ellis on two strictly acoustic Texas dates:
7/29 – The Kessler Theater – Dallas, TX
7/30 – The Heights Theater – Houston, TX
Belaver
Lain Prone
(Niles City Records)
Release Date: October 22, 2021
1. Here It Comes
2. In The RL
3. 70’s Adventure
4. The Storm
5. Gutted
6. Mount Misery
7. Monday
8. Death To The World
9. Bad Word Turn
10. Tower Of Silence
11. Satan’s Prayer
12. Burden Bearer
13. The Bilow
14. The Room
