The newest addition to the long list of supergroup side-projects forming in recent years is here: LA-based French Style Furs, made up of Nathan Willett and Matt Maust of Cold War Kids and We Barbarians’ Nathan Warkentin, has announced Is Exotic Bait, a debut LP due out July 8th on Frenchkiss Records.
Named after a storefront in Brooklyn and cultivated in spontaneity, French Style Furs pulses with the kind of creative urgency that comes with writing and recording in between shows, with Willett’s signature howls, barks, and wails giving restless life to lyrics inspired by Trappist monk and mystic Thomas Merton’s poetry.
As he does with Cold War Kids, Maust doubles as graphic designer and videographer, and has created a moving collage lyric video for ‘Solitary Life.’ The track itself opens with a bass groove of his (you can almost see him jerkily swaying on stage as you hear it) before swinging horns, Haley Dekle (Dirty Projectors) vocalizations, and even some cowbell are layered on.
In preparation for the album release, French Style Furs are doing a free residency at The Satellite as well as a few dates in New York:
6/2 – The Satellite – Los Angeles, CA
6/9 – The Satellite – Los Angeles, CA
6/16 – The Satellite – Los Angeles, CA
6/23 – The Satellite – Los Angeles, CA
7/7 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY
7/9 – Rough Trade – New York, NY
