Bret Busch – “Ink Black Sea” (audio) (premiere)

Bret Busch has been a vital part of the Atlanta music scene for more than 25 years as a member of various local bands, including Parlour, Pardner, and Ramada and the Hollidays. On his upcoming Pills Lace & Confetti LP releasing July 14th, Busch goes solo blending pop and a bit of soul while working with musicians from Merge Records as well as Janelle Monae’s backing band. Oh, and when this prolific fellow isn’t working on his music, Busch is the lead singer of beloved Smiths tribute band Smithsonian.

“Since I love and have played so many styles over the years, I wasn’t trying to do just one thing with this record,” Busch says. “I didn’t want it to be too crazy, and I wasn’t trying to be too avant-garde. Really, I’m a singer first, and that’s what I wanted to present by doing this project under my name. I wanted to have at least one country-ish song on there (“Where I’m Going”) because I’d done a lot of that with my band Pardner. But, other than that, I really just let my collaborators guide the sound.”

“Ink Black Sea” is the new album’s first single and it’s a catchy toe-tapping pop tune with a killer chorus, punctuated by a bright and energetic horn section. The summery vibe is contagious in this earworm of a tune and it has us looking forward to hearing what other pop tricks Busch may have up his sleeve for the rest of Pills Lace & Confetti.