Dan The Automator and Blues Explosion drummer Russell Simins will unveil their debut collaboration as Men Without Pans next month. “Naturally” is due Aug. 19 via Expansion Team Records, and includes contributions from Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ guitarist Nick Zinner, Yuka Honda and the Mooney Suzuki.
The “Naturally” recording sessions began in 2005, although the genesis for the record was much earlier. “Dan and I became fast friends while making the Blues Explosion ‘Acme’ record,” Simins tells Billboard.com. “Men Without Pants started as a bunch of material that I’d been writing some time after I put out my last album, ‘Public Places,’ in 2000.”
Fans of Automator’s hip-hop beats may be surprised at hard, fast rock-driven approach taken here, but working in this style is what drove to the record to its completion.
“Dan heard the music and decided he wanted to get involved,” Simins says. “It suited the idea of the project that we wanted to have, which was: make a rock record with live instruments, but also incorporate electronics and programming.”
Although nothing is firmed up at the moment, Simins says he and the Automator plan to work out some live dates around the album’s release. “We plan on bringing a real happening, star-studded show to the stage,” he says.
Here is the track list for “Naturally”:
“Never Gonna Do That Again”
“Double Life”
“And The Girls Go”
“Already Bored”
“If You’re Thinking Of Me”
“My Balloon”
“Keep On Movin”
“I Like The Way It Feels”
“Rock Show”
“Let’s Meet In Real Life”
“Right Now”
“Superfine”
“These Days”
“I Do”
“The Beginning”
“Goodbye”
