Alejandro Rose-Garcia, who you probably know better as Shakey Graves, has never been one to shy away from raising his creative game around an album release. This past September, he cranked it up big time for Movie of the Week, the full-length project he’ll bring to Turner Hall Ballroom on May 6.
Efforts around previous LPs have ranged from scavenger hunts to personalized packaging, but for this one he leaned all the way into the title — most notably through a webpage that creates custom soundtracks using the material Rose-Garcia generated for the album. And, boy, was there a lot of material.
“For each one of these core songs, the version that’s on the album is what I considered the most direct, palatable version of that song,” he told Under the Radar earlier this year. “But while we were recording them, we made multiple versions with really different feelings and approaches. The initial versions of this record were more challenging and with a lot more space, and I finally settled on a mix between making stuff for myself, but not really forcing the listener too much out of [typical] song format.”
So, while there’s a “standard” version of Movie of the Week that you can pick up on Bandcamp or hear on streaming platforms, there’s an unknown number of other versions, including whatever the soundtrack-generating webpage comes up with. As a result, I could tell you that the album is a lush, deep experience with some great tracks (“Ready or Not” featuring a duet with Sierra Ferrell is particularly wonderful), but I’m not sure what “your” Movie of the Week will sound like.
That’s a lot to process. Luckily, you have a decent amount of time to chew on it — and play around with the soundtrack generator or maybe pick up a limited-edition jumpsuit — before Shakey and his crew come to town in May. You can get tickets through an eMember presale at noon next Thursday, Feb. 1 (password: GROUNDHOG), and a general sale at 10 a.m. the following day online and at the Pabst/Riverside box offices.
