Darto Frontman Nicholas Merz Announces Debut Solo Album, Previews BULLED ROSE Single

Aagoo Records presents the debut solo album from Seattle-based song crafter Nicholas Merz. Entitled 'The Limits of Men', this nine-track offering was previewed by the invigorating powerhouse first single 'Bulled Rose', a track that is about being born into the labor force, family and power dynamics and 'Fashion', which is about cultural expectations and role playing.

After releasing six albums with the Seattle indie rock explorers Darto, Merz has finally made his first solo album. This entails a collection of work is based on ideas he's been thinking about since his teens.

The nine tracks on offer cover a broad spectrum ranging from upbeat alternative with true similarities to Darto, Nick Cave and Iggy Pop to singer-songwriter elements and even a few selection for an imaginary spaghetti western soundtrack.

"This record has been swimming in my mind since my teen years. My mother and father were in country bands, and as much as I tried to run away from it when I was younger because it symbolized all the bigoted, sexist rednecks that I grew up with, I eventually secretly embraced it by my teen years," explains Nicholas Merz.

"I wouldn't call this a country record, as much as a record resulting from that dynamic with country music. The record is a social critique on straight white men, masculinity and all the cultural expectations that come with being raised as such. I quit my job to write and record it, so I just hear a really poor and vulnerable person approaching 30 trying their best to disarm masculinity at 3am. I feel like it has a dreamy night time quality because it was recorded at odd hours."

Rather than anyone else's music, Merz says he was more influenced by his sisters Candace and Leanna Harter, his mother and writers like Flannery O'Conner and Raymond Carver.

By day Nicholas repairs, and builds instruments out of Seattle Washington. Between that and touring and writing with Darto, Merz has managed to write and record this album between December 2016 and February 2017 in his home studio.

Its offerings feature Darto bandmates Candace Harter, Gordon De Los Santos and Gregory Flores, his father Michael Blackbird, as well as friends Hiroshi Matsubara and Jeffery White. It was mixed by Cory Hanson and mastered by JJ Golden.

'The Limits of Men' is available on vinyl and also online through music stores and streaming platforms as of Friday, June 1 in the USA and on Friday, July 6 in the EU with both versions being released via Aagoo Records. You can also get it via Bandcamp.

TRACK LIST
1 Generation
2 Fashion
3 Man Without Woman
4 Bulled Rose
5 The Empress Of The Garden
6 Neon Figures
7 Domestic Dispute
8 Down Range
9 The Great American Tail

TOUR DATES

June 21 Portland - Turn Turn Turn

June 22 San Jose - Local Color

June 23 Oakland - 1234go

June 24 Los Angeles - Love Song Bar

June 25 Phoenix - Valley Bar

June 26 Tucson - The Owls Club

June 27 Las Vegas - The Griffin

June 28 Salt Lake City - Diabolical Records

June 29 Boise - Neurolux

June 30 Missoula - Freecycles

July 1 Seattle - Royal Room

Keep up with Nicholas Merz
Bandcamp | Instagram | Soundcloud

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