ANR to Host Record Release Party Saturday at Little Munich

Getting to see Miami's synth-fused indie duo Awesome New Republic -- or

ANR, of late -- in Palm Beach County is enough of a delicacy in itself.

Supplement that with the draw of a brand-new Discosoma Records

seven-inch platter for "Big Problem"/"Dead Gulf" debuting that night,

and the evening should be veritable sweetbreads for the most discerning

of local musical palates.

Incidentally, the dirty dance anthem "Big Problem" will be on ANR's forthcoming second full-length album, Stay Kids.

Members Michael-John "MJ" Hancock and Brian Robertson did manage to shop the

album abroad to the English Something in Construction label, but its

stateside release has steadily slid from fall 2010 to sometime in

February or March of this year. Perhaps a warm reception at Little

Munich will be enough of a nudge to put that sucker out already.

In preparation for the seven-inch release show, County Grind asked Discosoma Records' Jared McKay to give his perspective on this release.

From McKay:

Putting out the ANR record is really cool for us, and sort of completes a five-year circle with the band. Colin was their first manager back in 2005-2006 when they were first getting noticed outside of Miami, and I contributed some field recordings on their "All Party Talks" 12" EP that Lolo from Sweat Records released. When "All Party Talks" came out, they became a duo out of necessity. MJ had to learn how to play drums after their drummer left to study music at Cal Arts. MJ wasn't the best drummer at first (he was literally learning on the road), but the intensity of their live shows was really impressive. From 2007-2009 they ranged from a four to five piece live band, but ANR never really seemed as impressive as it was when it was just B Rob playing keyboards like a wizard and MJ beating the crap out of the drum kit. There really aren't many other bands like them. So it is fitting that this is their first vinyl release since "All Party Talks," and finds them in their best and most cohesive form since their debut bedroom recorded CD-R Witness Now the Birth of an Awesome New Republic from 2004.

The A-side, 'Big Problem' is the second single off their forthcoming LP, Stay Kids. I really like the hectic pace of the song which is considerably faster than the first single, "The Endless Field of Mercury." "TEFOM" has a sublime, innocent feel about it, whereas "Big Problem" is like a slasher film chase sequence. Local filmmaker Lucas Leyva is directing the video, which we are really looking forward to. From what MJ has told us, the song was written in the wake of the BP oil disaster, which is of course what the B-side instrumental 'Dead Gulf' is also alluding to. 'Dead Gulf' was written specifically for a one-off live performance at our 'Artificial Reef' show in December. Video artist Jamie Harley curated a collage of our 'Natural History' videos that was projected onto ANR as they played. It was a really captivating show. MJ and B Rob are tremendously talented musicians. Their sonic output is really impressive. I think that we must have over 150 unique ANR songs and demos cataloged in our archives since 2004.

Tickets cost $5. Call 561-932-0050, or click here.