Mike Kinsella’s list of credits is so long you need to take a deep breath before reeling them off. The Chicago native has been involved in American Football, Cap’n Jazz, Joan of Arc, Owls, The One Up Downstairs and most recently Their / They’re / There, but he’s also recorded solo as ‘Owen’ since 2001 and just put out his tenth album – The King of Whys – under the moniker. Recorded and fleshed out by S. Carey (drummer and supporting vocalist in Bon Iver), the album has the special privilege of being the first time an Owen project wasn’t performed pretty much entirely by Mike. It also marks the first time Kinsella has ever recorded a project outside of the greater Chicagoland area. Historic!
Known for being musically lush and lyrically frank, the majority of Owen’s songs have typically revolved around the everyday: drinking, familial relationships, more drinking. Premiering below, the video for “Settled Down” couches itself in just that. Detailing four perspectives on an average day in the life of middle-aged suburban dad life, “Settled Down” embraces the beauty and comfort of the conventional while still anchored in that unconventional Kinsella sound.
Videos by VICE
Speaking to Noisey over email, Mike says: “It was quite arduous to make. Instead of spending the whole weekend at home playing with my kids and drinking with my friends, I had to go to Minneapolis and play with other people’s kids and drink with new friends.”
Watch below.
The King of Whys is out now via Polyvinyl in the US and Wichita everywhere else.
You can catch Owen in London on the following dates:
Nov 21 – St. Pancras Old Church, London, UK
Nov 23 – The Forge, London, UK
Nov 24 – The Forge, London, UK
Nov 25 – St. Pancras Old Church, London, UK
Feb 9 – St. Stephen’s Church, London UK
Follow Noisey on Twitter.
