Suffice to say Daniel Hall isn’t huge fan of the sitting president. “I started writing ‘No Alarm’ during the first term, as I watched my partner go through chemotherapy while a spiteful billionaire tried to strip her and millions of others of their healthcare,” says the Alaska native and frontman for the Lives Of Famous Men.
Eight years later, things aren’t exactly looking up—at least from where Hall sits in Southern California. “The agents of spite and dirty money have clawed away so much from those with so little,” he says. “L.A. is reeling from two devastating fires in a climate that no longer distinguishes between seasons. And the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has granted unprecedented power to the man who installed them.”
Meanwhile, the Lives Of Famous Men are still fighting the good fight the only way they know how, cleverly comingling accessibility and adventure with their bouncy, literate brand of art pop. In the 18 years since their debut, the band has worked with an impressive list of producers, including James Paul Wisner (Paramore), Casey Bates (Portugal. The Man), Paul Q Kolderie (Radiohead, Uncle Tupelo) and, most recently, Alex Newport (Bloc Party). Newport was also behind the boards for “No Alarm,” which isn’t so much a call to arms as it is a wake-up call.
“I think we tell ourselves things aren’t as bad as they seem because admitting it would be too overwhelming,” says Hall. “But maybe it’s time to hit the panic button.”
We’re proud to premiere the Lives Of Famous Men’s “No Alarm.”
—Hobart Rowland
