Neal Francis - Sentimental Garbage (2022) [Hi-Res]

We had four tracks left over from the In Plain Sight sessions we did at our DIY studio at St. Peter’s Church in Chicago. I thought these were all worthy of release, but I wanted to revisit one in particular, “Very Fine.” The original parsonage recording was very ‘rocked out’ and I wanted to re-record it with the band in a style closer to the demo, which was going for a Bill Withers/ Marvin Gaye “Here My Dear” aesthetic. We re cut the song to 8 track at Killion Sound in Los Angeles with our favorite producer Sergio Rios. The original intent was to release Very Fine b/w Don’t Want you To Know as a 45, but since we had such a surplus of material, that idea snowballed into a 12” EP release. I did some auxiliary recording for the covers, Strawberry Letter 23 and Collage as well as Very Fine with Elliot Bergman at his studio in Chicago. “Sentimental Garbage” was the working title of our last LP, which includes the track of the same name. We ended up calling that record “In Plain Sight” while removing the title track from the sequence. When it was decided In Plain Sight would appear on this release I knew it was my last chance to slap “Sentimental Garbage” on a record jacket, the thought of which always brought me great joy. It also works because this record is compiled of bittersweet scraps. I guess we could have also titled the record “Burnt Ends.”

- Neal Francis