The Mother Hips have shared "Clay Mask Clown"—the third and final single to be released from their new studio album, Glowing Lantern, out next Friday, December 3 on Blue Rose (Listen/Share). Available today on all streaming platforms, "Clay Mask Clown" is a slice of pure, unadulterated rock and roll energy, speaking to a relationship on the brink of disaster with the stirring refrain, "I know you hate me, but you know you love me too."
"The feeling of having a clay mask over my face was coming on, among other unpleasant symptoms, during episodes of acute anxiety I was having surrounding a difficult time in an important relationship," explains The Mother Hips' Tim Bluhm for the song's premiere at Relix Magazine. "I've come to learn that a mask can represent the 'repression of the cooperative self,' as well as the 'angry state of the unjustly condemned ego.’ That all makes a lot of sense in the context of the lyrics, I will sheepishly admit."
"Clay Mask Clown" was the first song recorded during the Glowing Lantern sessions. Ten days later, on the last evening of tracking, Bluhm felt that the band should re-record it. While initially met with resistance about running a song they'd already had in the can, The Mother Hips played it six or seven additional times and finally got the master that appears on the album, which features a moog part by Circles Around The Sun keyboardist Adam MacDougall.
The Mother Hips eleventh studio album, Glowing Lantern, tops off an eventful 2021, in which the band with the support of their record label Blue Rose celebrated its 30th anniversary by reissuing its entire studio discography on limited edition vinyl. The legendary northern California band will close out the year with a headline performance at Felton Music Hall in Felton, CA, as well as, a three night run at Great American Music Hall in San Francisco (Dec. 17-19) and a two night stand to ring in 2022 at Harlow's in Sacramento (Dec. 30-31).
The Mother Hips
Tour Dates:
11/27 - Felton, CA - Felton Music Hall
12/3 - Springdale, UT - Bit & Spur Restaurant & Saloon
12/4 - Salt Lake City, UT - The State Room
12/17 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
12/18 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
12/19 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
12/30 - Sacramento, CA - Harlow's
12/31 - Sacramento, CA - Harlow's
1/12-16 - Todos Santos, MX - Tropic Of Cancer Festival
