Carson McHone – ODES
Ahead of the first leg of an expansive worldwide tour, Carson McHone releases ODES.
The four-song covers EP, featuring McHone’s incisive, transformative interpretations of songs by Conway Twitty, Arthur Russell, Margo Guryan, and the MC5, is streaming digitally wherever you listen to music, and also as a self-released 7-inch, available online and on her forthcoming tour dates.
“The American Ruse,” which served as the capstone of ODES, dives into the political disillusionment and muscular psychedelia of the MC5. In working through its gnarled barb of angst with The Outfit, McHone found herself grappling with the act of interpretation as a listener and a songwriter, ultimately finding a throughline to hope and empowerment.
She explains:
“Making ODES was liberating. The Russell song challenged me to explore the “other side” of a situation, and it relieved some tension in me. I felt capable of some kind of forgiveness that I hadn’t felt before—I grew. That’s profound, when a song can help you do that, and I think that happens all the time, but this was such an obvious kind of real-life metaphor at play. I’m grateful for that experience, and when I play it live, the act of singing it is a potent reminder of this.
Recording “Linda” was special because I felt like I was finally fulfilling a kind of cosmic deal with an old friend, and with a band so perfectly suited to the task—one with the ability and the flexibility to reinterpret “Linda” as if done by the Ramones, and the Margo song (with both its humor and sincerity!) as if accented by The Kinks or The Who. It was fun!
Those three songs were in the can and we had called the session, but over coffee the next morning, we were talking about the EP. I really wanted to press a 7”, and the idea came up to do a fourth song. Wayne Kramer and the MC5 had been on our minds and in conversation a lot recently (ever relevant!)—and there it was. We screamed back to the studio. Ian was busy in another session, so Daniel hopped on drums and Tommy grabbed a guitar and they just rocked it out. Tommy’s interpretation of that insane Fred solo is so, so funny and good. It was a bummer to miss Ian, but what a treat to have Daniel on drums. So Tommy played double duty on bass and guitar, and the track sounded amazing…and then I started feeling funny about the lyrics. The emotional impact of the song was clear, but line by line, the lyrics could be interpreted in such a way where you could twist the meaning into a direction that I saw some political groups exploiting, and it made me uneasy. Ultimately though, that’s just the chance you take—people will react according to their own experience and mindset, no matter what you intend. I was doing that myself with these covers, after all.
So, to me, the song is about noticing and calling out injustice and hypocrisy. It’s something I wish we, the people, could all get on the same page about so we could join together and dismantle the sick power structure that separates us. The song pinpoints brutalities, but it’s also a hopeful call to action (“take a look around”). It champions the younger generation for getting hip to the hypocrisy (“lots of kids are working to get rid of these blues”); we’ve got to break the mold “cause everybody’s sick of the American ruse!” It’s empowering to sing that, and each of these songs is a call to action. Recording them was just the first step, so off we go…”
Next week, McHone will embark on an extended tour of the United States, headlining dates ahead of her appearance at the Merge 35 festival and supporting Daniel Romano’s Outfit and Uni Boys in August. A fall duo tour of the UK and EU with Daniel Romano follows in September. Tickets for all dates are on sale now.
Carson McHone on tour:
Jul 19 Saskatoon, SK – Ness Creek Music Festival
Jul 23 New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
Jul 24 Richmond, VA – Get Tight Lounge
Jul 25 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle (Merge 35)
Aug 16 Rochester, NY – Skylark Lounge*%
Aug 17 Boston, MA – Sonia at Middle East*%
Aug 18 Hamden, CT – Space Ballroom*%
Aug 19 Washington, DC – DC9*%
Aug 20 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s*%
Sep 01 Bristol, UK – The Louisiana^
Sep 04 Winchester, UK – The Railway Inn^
Sep 05 Hassocks, UK – Mid Sussex Music Hall^
Sep 07 Colchester, UK – Little Rabbit Barn^
Sep 08 London, UK – The Green Note^
Sep 12 Donegal, IE – Balor Arts Centre^
Sep 13 Clonmel, IE – Moynihan’s Bar^
Sep 14 Kilkenny, IE – Cleere’s Bar^
Sep 15 Dublin, IE – Cobblestone^
Sep 29 Utrecht, NL – TivoliVredenburg Club Nine^
Oct 01 Leiden, NL – Bus Club^
Oct 02 Groningen, NL – SPOT/Der Aa-Theater
* w/ Daniel Romano’s Outfit
% w/ Uni Boys
^ Duo show w/ Daniel Romano
#carsonmchone