Only a confident artist, or perhaps a fishmonger, would title their album after a mollusk appetizer. Brian Dunne is one such artist. The New York singer-songwriter will release Clams Casino — an indie-rock, Paul Simon-evoking gem of a record — on Sept. 5 via Missing Piece Records.
Over 10 tracks, much of them recorded in his apartment in Brooklyn, Dunne paints a picture of trying to savor little luxuries while struggling to make ends meet. Nowhere is that message more clear than on Clams Casino’s title track. Dunne, who is also a member of the Americana rock band Fantastic Cat, dropped the song, along with a single-camera music video (and some grated cheese and hand claps), on Wednesday.
“I’m just trying to have a good life/clams casino on a Sunday night,” he sings, yearning for, if not one good meal, than at least an appetizer. “Is it so bad to want a god thing?/Don’t even let them catch you looking.” In the video, Dunne is seen miming the words from a table at Pitt’s restaurant in Brooklyn as pasta, bread, and wine make the rounds (alas, there’s no visible clams).
“I remember seeing the name on menus when I’d go out to eat with my parents. It’s kind of an East Coast regional dish that doesn’t really exist anymore — it’s what a working man thinks a rich man eats,” Dunne says of the seafood title.
“The song asks two questions,” he continues. “Why is it so hard to have a good thing? And is it so bad to want a good life? The first verse is a working-class blues, the second is more about shame, and the last is calling myself out for being full of shit. Maybe you just want what you don’t have. We all want change, but if we got an invite to the party…we’d probably all just go to the party.”
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Last month, Dunne previewed Clams Casino with the first single “Play the Hits.” He’ll do just that — or his version of them anyway — on a summer/fall tour both solo and with Fantastic Cat, who are touring in support of their latest album, Now That’s What I Call Fantastic Cat.
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Brian Dunne tour dates
June 11 – Ann Arbor, MI @ The Ark **
June 12 – Chicago, IL @ Martyrs’ **
June 14 – Appleton, WI @ Gibson Music Hall **
June 17 – Indianapolis, IN @ HiFi **
June 18 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement **
June 19 – Decatur, GA @ Eddie’s Attic **
June 28 – Asbury Park, NJ @ The Wonder Bar **
Aug. 1 – King of Prussia, PA @ Upper Merion Township Building Park **
Aug. 22 – Fall River, MA @ Narrows Center for the Arts
Sept. 5 – New York, NY@ Mercury Lounge
Oct. 8 – Vienna, VA @ Jammin’ Java
Oct. 9 – Durham, NC @ Rubie’s on Five Points
Oct. 10 – Charlotte, NC @ Evening Muse
Oct. 12 – Atlanta, GA @ Eddie’s Attic
Oct. 13 – Nashville, TN @ The East Room
Oct. 15 – Indianapolis, IN @ Duke’s / Freeform Series
Oct. 16 – Columbus, OH @ Woodlands Tavern
Oct. 17 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Warhol
Oct. 18 – Lake Orion, MI @ 20 Front St
Oct. 19 – Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
Oct. 21 – Northampton, MA @ Parlor Room
Oct. 22 – Portsmouth, NH @ Press Room
Oct. 23 – Boston, MA @ Rockwell
Oct. 24 – Philadelphia, PA @ WCL Upstairs
Oct. 25 – Hudson, NY @ Park Theater
** with Fantastic Cat