You can imagine the scene: Mini Mansions, a still-emerging Los Angeles-based trio, found themselves thinking of Brian Wilson when they got to the chorus of a song-in-progress called “Any Emotions.” That’s probably happened to about a million bands over a billion times, right?
Only bassist/drummer Zach Dawes happened to find the same Brian Wilson in the midst of working on his forthcoming solo effort, No Pier Pressure — and slipped him a demo. Suitably impressed, Wilson agreed to lend his distinctive vocals, giving Mini Mansions’ new single this sun-splashed gravitas.
Mimi Mansions, which features vocalist Michael Shuman of Queens of the Stone Age (switching from bass to guitar) and Tyler Parkford on keyboards and vocals, completed things with a groove best described as mechanized psychedelia, the perfect girding for these breezy ruminations. Now, “Any Emotions” advances The Great Pretenders, set for release on March 24, 2015 via Electromagnetic Recordings, the T Bone Burnett imprint.
They’ve achieved that rarest of things together, a moment which could unite disparate generations in the span of three short minutes. “Any Emotions” works for fans of next-gen psych-rockers MGMT, Wilson’s summertime anthems with the Beach Boys and Joshua Hodges’ mathematical scronk with Starfucker.
Oh, and Mini Mansions’ luck held during the creation of the accompanying video, as well. When director Mike Harris mentioned that he’d like to do a single-take clip featuring an actor going through a suitably wide range of feelings, they thought of Colin Hanks. Turns out, he’d caught Mini Mansions opening for the Artic Monkeys last year — and was a fan.
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