When it came time to record his 2013 sophomore album Head in the Dirt, Hanni El Khatib made a trip down to Dan Auerbach’s personal studio in Nashville. Working alongside The Black Keys frontman, the Los Angeles-based garage rocker found a way to flesh out his brand of “rebel rock,” honing and tightening a kinetic mix that references everyone from Black Sabbath to The Clash.
For his latest LP, Khatib holed up on his own, exploring a new set of influences from the comfort of his home studio. The resulting album’s sonic diversity is best represented by its title track, “Moonlight”. Described as “equal parts RZA, Iggy Pop, and Tom Waits,” Khatib’s crafted a beguiling little ditty, one that skirts the lines between hazy psych pop, sleazy desert rock, vintage R&B/soul, and early, swagger-drenched hip-hop. It’s aesthetically similar to much of Head in the Dirt, but definitely blazes its own trail in regards to attitude and outright surrealism.
Listen in below.
Moonlight the album is due out January 20th, 2015 via Innovative Leisure. Pre-orders are ongoing.
Moonlight Tracklist:
01. Moonlight
02. Melt Me
03. The Teeth
04. Chasin ‘
05. Worship Song (No. 2)
06. Mexico
07. Servant
08. All Black
09. Home
10. Dance Hall
11. Two Brothers
Here’s the album’s gnarly cover art:
