PAPA is Darren Weiss, who has been a staple in the Los Angeles indie music scene for over a decade and has worked and toured with the likes of everyone from Lana Del Rey to Sky Ferreira, from Perfume Genius to Girls. Today, he announced PAPA’s new album and the first PAPA record since 2016, Dig Yourself Or Dig A Hole, out October 13th along with fall North American tour dates supporting Sorcha Richardson (see dates below).
Weiss also shares the new track “Everything Takes An Accident,” recorded with Devendra Banhart’s keyboardist Tyler Cash and violinist Daphne Chen, who has performed with everyone from Travis Scott and Niall Horan to Aimee Mann and Carrie Underwood. Of the buoyant track that leans on a mix of pop and guitar rock reminiscent of the likes of Electric Light Orchestra, Weiss notes, “The fact is all things are forever changing, and what a missed opportunity it is to let your certainty get in the way of seeing what’s happening around you. The Bible? State lines? These things were drawn up by men. So give me a pencil.”
Once described as “Joe Strummer and the E Street Band,” PAPA blends the urgency and passion of their early punk influences with a classic sense of songwriting that makes their music feel fresh, vital, and somehow like it’s always been there. PAPA released their debut EP, A Good Woman Is Hard To Find, in 2011 and two full length albums: 2013’s Tender Madness and 2016’s Kick At The Dust. Since PAPA’s last release, Weiss has been busy as a touring and session drummer with the likes Lana Del Rey, Albert Hammond Jr, Perfume Genius and Sky Ferreira, among others. Though it’s been a few years since the last PAPA album was put out, it is clear from listening to the upcoming release, Weiss has so much more to say, and can’t wait to tell you all.
