Mal Blum with Charlie Mtn.

Mal Blum returns with new LP, The Villain, out via Get Better Records -- a striking resurgence that combines the artist’s trademark blend of searing and wry lyricism with novel boldness and slight camp amongst a backdrop of textured indie rock, alt-rock and pop instrumentation. The album is ultimately a work about human complexity and the stories we tell ourselves versus the stories we are told about ourselves. There is no one villain. Sometimes the villain is an unreliable narrator, sometimes a misunderstood character, sometimes a heel-turn performance of villainy. Perhaps most notably, given the historical and rapidly mounting demonization of trans people as villainous bogeymen (attitudes explored on tracks like “Killer” and “A Small Request”), often the villain appears to be a purposeful construct that never truly existed at all. The listener is left not with easy answers, but invitations. Welcome to your Villain era.

Charlie Mtn. is alt-country from queer road dawg John-Allison Weiss. Known for gritty, melodic, introspective songwriting, Weiss became a seasoned staple of in the underground punk/alternative scene of the early 2000s, cutting their teeth touring the world for nearly two decades. Five years ago while changing their gender and getting divorced, they rediscovered a childhood passion for pop country music and Charlie Mtn. was born. Fans of Johnny’s solo work will recognize the same heartfelt, honest, raw, and catchy-as-hell tunes with just a little extra twang. Charlie Mtn. heads into the studio this summer to independently make their first full-length album and will hit the road with Mal Blum shortly after.