The Mystery Plan drops a double single in the form of ‘Ballad of JC Quinn’ & ‘Al Gore Rhythms’. While the album titled ‘Zsa Za’ comes out on April 4th, these two singles give one a perfect preview of the level of skill that the album has. Each song has that steady melodic groove that can capture the attention even when in the background, but then you get that diversity between the two tracks.
‘Ballad of JC Quinn’ gives you that quirky avante-guard retro feel with a solid groove while ‘Al Gore Rhythms’ delivers a pop-jazz infusion with that subtle hip-hop beat laid out for good measure. Two totally different songs from the same artist on the same album. Each on the same level with their own merits. That is the sign of a true artist.
As of March 6, ‘Ballad of JC Quinn’ will be available digitally across streaming platforms. The full ‘Zsa Za’ album will be released on April 4, both on CD and digitally.
About The Mystery Plan
Based in Charlotte, NC, the band is comprised of Jason Herring, Amy Herring, Jeff Chester, Otis Hughes, and Patty McLaughlin. Since forming in 2010, they’ve managed to release 10 EPs and LPs combined.
“JC Quinn was an actor from NYC with many films and television credits, including “Barfly”, “the Abyss”, “Visionquest” and countless others. He moved to Charlotte in the late 1990s to be closer to his grandchildren. We met at a downtown watering hole called Cafe 521, owned and operated by his good friend from New York, Peter Herrero. That’s where I met JC, along with many other actors, such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Bernadette Peters, etc.. They would always stop at the café when in town to visit their good friend Peter,” says Jason Herring.
“JC and I struck up a nice friendship. He was a fan of ours and would come to shows and stand right up front so we could see him. A very lovely man indeed. Sadly, JC died in Mexico while shooting a film a few years ago. I’ve always wanted to pay tribute to him, and we have finally done so with this song. The lyrics are a blend of what we would do with him now if he were still here, and iconic lines from some of his films.”
‘Zsa Zsa’ was recorded at Catalyst Recording and various local studios over a 2+ year stretch following a number of Southeast U.S. tours in promotion of the band’s ‘Queensland Ballroom’ album. This new record touches of several different styles – everything from deep mellow shoegaze and folky ambient to upbeat danceable trip-hop and electronica.
‘Zsa Zsa’ finds the quintet moving further afield of its earlier psych-folk leaning to land on something more akin to the down-tempo approach of Portishead and Zero 7, mixed with early 4AD action. That later is in no small part due to the return of band collaborator, producer John Fryer (too many A-list credits to list here), and new Mystery Plan friend Ian Masters, former bassist-vocalist of influential British shoegazers Pale Saints.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/The-Mystery-Plan-1498248636862179
https://www.facebook.com/10mmomega
https://soundcloud.com/10mmomegarecordings
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5SN1Udgyeoxvu7nEiJosx1
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoUq0Xz_tBvIeOPc6oL59HA/videos
https://www.reverbnation.com/jasonherringthemysteryplan
