"You gotta take yourself out of your own hell. You gotta dance like nobody else is watching ... You gotta stop waiting for someone to fucking discover you." That's stuff Willis Earl Beal said, after falling to the floor at some point during his absolutely stunning NYC debut at Glasslands last week. That's also the stuff Willis Earl Beal lives, too; the Chicago native's backstory is rich with urban DIY lore, full of train station performances for nobody and impromptu telephonic songs for anyone willing to dial the phone number he'd scribble on the art flyers he'd tack up around town. Now that he is the flagship signing on the mighty XL Records' new imprint, Hot Charity, WEB's new reality is impressing slack-jawed slackers in places like Glasslands. And so this video for the understatedly poignant "Monotony" is a little snapshot of the reality he's leaving behind -- standing on the street, entirely uncelebrated, essentially ignored, but in full possession of the skills and presence that make Acoustmatic Sourcery one of this year's best LPs and his live show and absolute must-see. The "Monotony" video is here:
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Acousmatic Sourcery is out via Hot Charity/XL Recordings. If you're curious to hear that Glasslands show (and hear WEB start it by reciting from Bukowski's “The Harder You Try”), the whole thing is streaming. If you want to watch him, try this full live show video we posted, or go see him at Webster Hall with SBTRKT tonight.
