Release Date: Aug 6, 2013
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock
Record label: Don Giovanni
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“Can someone out there in America tell me what’s wrong?” That question, delivered on “America”, acts as a sort of thesis for Generic Treasure, the debut album from Joe Steinhardt, AKA Modern Hut. The album title itself does pretty well to that end, as well, Steinhardt aware that his intensely introspective lyrics and hard-luck emotionality make his music special, but that everyone’s special. So, it’s no surprise then, when no answer comes back to him when he asks for someone to tell him what’s wrong.
Modern Hut's Joe Steinhardt is the co-founder of New Jersey's Don Giovanni Records, home to Waxahatchee, Screaming Females, California X and others. Steinhardt has an enviable ear for developing talent, and in recent years, Don Giovanni's solidified itself as one of the most important indie labels going. Years back, Steinhardt played guitar for Jersey punkers For Science, and after their 2009 split, Steinhardt began writing and recording the songs that would become Generic Treasure, Modern Hut's Don Giovanni debut.
Modern Hut is Joe Steinhardt, a co-founder of Don Giovanni Records, one of indie rock’s finest labels at the moment. Based in New Jersey, the label grew out of the New Brunswick DIY/punk scene. Steinhardt has proven himself a keen ear for talent, having released great albums by the Screaming Females, Waxahatchee, and Vacation, just to name a few. Steinhardt takes the path of intimacy with this release, recording the album with just an acoustic guitar and his flat tuneless voice.
Joe Steinhardt is looking for answers. In the mustard stains on his shirts, in the pages of history books and even within his own somewhat grotesquely portrayed body, Steinhardt wants to find a tangible solution to his existential doubts. The man behind Modern Hut isn’t making music—he’s crafting a kind of Beautiful Mind-esque map to figure out where his tangled emotions lead.
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