“Armageddon Suite is about having a more heightened romantic sense facilitated by the world ending,” says Michael C. Hall.
Michael C. Hall (of Dexter and Six Feet Under), drummer Peter Yanowitz (Wallflowers, Morningwood), and keyboardist Matt Katz-Bohen (Blondie, ) form the band Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum. They just released their full-length album, Thanks For Coming, on digital platforms on Friday (February 12th) and it will be available on physical formats on March 26th.
They just released the new music video for “Armageddon Suite,” a song with an elegant structure and dream-pop sensibilities that barely contains its simmering darkness beneath the surface. The track’s official video finds Hall and his bandmates (Matt Katz-Bohen and Peter Yanowitz) driving down country roads and through woodland. (You can watch the video above).
“Michael C. Hall goes full-on indie rock God … 1980s-inspired, synth-pop groove. It’s as if he and his bandmates consolidated the chaos of 2020 into danceable exuberance.” –Huffington Post
Princess Goes To The Butterfly Museum eschews traditional rock instrumentation in favor of stripped-down synthesizer-and-drum attack. A wealth of disparate influences flow into Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum’s songs – the glam, experimental, ambient music of David Bowie, Giorgio Moroder’s ‘70s disco productions for Donna Summer, ‘80s new wave dance music, contemporary electronic dance acts like Justice, and the roster of France’s Ed Banger label. A theatrical sensibility is part of the trio’s DNA, especially in live shows, having met several years ago on Broadway during the production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
The band released their self-titled EP in 2020 along with videos for “Ketamine,” “Come Talk To Me,” “Love American Style” and “Vicious.” The music drew early praise from Paper, Alternative Press, Associated Press, Consequence of Sound, People, American Songwriter, Magnet and more.
Michael C. Hall is a musical talent and a longstanding Broadway performer, having played leading roles in Chicago, Cabaret, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and was selected by David Bowie to star in his musical, Lazarus. He has also earned many accolades for his acting, including an Emmy nomination for his work on the HBO drama Six Feet Under and a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award for the acclaimed Showtime series Dexter. Hall assumed the title role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway on October 16, 2014 and performed the role until January 18, 2015. His bandmates boast similarly prodigious resumes. Peter Yanowitz began his career playing drums in The Wallflowers before going on to co-found indie stalwarts Morningwood and work with artists as varied as Natalie Merchant, Yoko Ono, Andrew W.K., Allen Ginsberg, and Billy Bragg & Wilco, who enlisted him to perform on their seminal ‘Mermaid Avenue’ collaboration. Keyboardist Matt Katz-Bohen spent the last decade touring and recording with Blondie, in addition to working with Boy George and Cyndi Lauper.
“A lot of people say, ‘Oh, wow, that’s not what I was expecting at all’ when they see us for the first time,” said Hall, who also worked on the stage musical “Lazarus” with David Bowie shortly before his 2016 death. “I always take that as a compliment. As an audience member, you always want to be surprised musically or thematically or whatever. I’m enjoying that we can sort of do that to people.”
The band hopes to release at least one more video from “Thanks for Coming” and, in the absence of touring plans, has already begun work on new music.
“There’s not a lot for musicians to do right now other than be in the studio,” Yanowitz said. “This album was the one thing that kept us sane ― just staying creative and engaged was one of the silver linings in a weird, fucked-up year.”
Added Hall, “It’s one of the most magical things I’ve experienced in my creative life.”
The album’s track listing:
Intro
Bombed Out Sites
Nevertheless
Thanks For Coming
Too Cool To Care
Armageddon Suite
Moodarama
Eat An Eraser
The Deeper Down
Sideways
Angela Peacock
Airhead
Tomorrows Screams
Cruel World (Bonus Track)
As for Dexter, “He’s in another place and another circumstance and surrounded by different people, which is an interesting thing to consider,” Hall explained. “The more time that passed, the more compelling [the idea of] revisiting it became. It’s a show that a lot of people loved, but with an ending that was very confounding, so the chance to answer some questions was appealing.”
Production for the series kicked off in Massachusetts in February and if all goes well, should wrap in July so it looks like fans could expect the new series to hit screens as early as Autumn of 2021.
