J. Robbins is prepping for the record of his second solo album, Basilisk, out Feb. 2 on Dischord Records.
Robbins shares "Last War" now.
In 2020 I read Before the Deluge - Berlin in the 1920s by Otto Friedrich. It really stayed with me -- I can’t recommend it highly enough.
There’s a famous phrase that gets attributed to lots of different people: "generals always fight the last war" -- we tend to see new situations through the lens of our familiar experience, and that’s how we often miss what matters most in decisive moments. The song "Last War" is a musical voodoo doll of a situation that honestly scares the shit out of me, over which I have next to no control: the USA in the 2020s, which is so often like the feeling of being a passenger in the moment just before a car wreck, when the driver is on autopilot, but you know it’s too late to swerve.
What’s the past for, if it looks you in the eye, but the lessons pass you by?
Robbins will tour, with full band, shortly after the album's release.
J. Robbins on tour:
2.15.24 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups w/Minnows
2.16.24 – Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
2.17.24 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop w/Whatever. and Sunburnsun
2.18.24 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Government Center
2.20.24 – Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool w/SAVAK
2.21.24 – Troy, NY @ No Fun
2.22.24 – Medford (Boston), MA @ Deep Cuts
2.23.24 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's w/Bitter Branches
2.24.24 – Washington, DC @ Comet Ping Pong