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Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum: Thanks for Coming

Princess Goes To The Butterfly Museum is comprised of vocalist, lyricist, musician and actor Michael C. Hall (Dexter, Six Feet Under, Hedwig and the Angry Inch), drummer Peter Yanowitz (The Wallflowers, Morningwood) and keyboardist Matt Katz-Bohen (Blondie). Individually the band has accumulated awards such as a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award and worked with artists such as Natalie Merchant, Yoko Ono, Andrew W.K., Allen Ginsberg, and Billy Bragg & Wilco, Blondie, Boy George, Cyndi Lauper and more.

On their full-length debut album Thanks for Coming released in 2021 - the trio provides a post-pandemic primer that is cinematic and daring in scope on 14-tracks of varying shades and hues that hover nearer the darker side of the spectrum. Princess Goes To The Butterfly Museum has been described as a swirl of David Bowie's experimental glam rock, Giorgio Moroder's '70s disco productions for Donna Summer, '80s new wave music, and contemporary electronic dance acts like Justice. There's no doubt you will hear these influences and more when you drop the needle on the long-player.

Following a brief intro, "Bombed Out Sites" drops on our ears with an electro mid-tempo and moody treatise on devastation to get the dance party started. "Nevertheless" follows with an even more dystopian vibe that succinctly encapsulates the ever-present fear our of age. "Too Cool To Care" with its reminder that 'no one makes it out alive' keeps the theme going and provides confirmation that this is music for the ride to the mausoleum like the one that graces the album's cover. More titles like "Armageddon Suite", "Tomorrow's Screams" and "Cruel World" make an argument that this collection could be considered a concept album made for this moment. Overall, the Princess Goes To The Butterfly Museum debut is appealing and their sonically smart output feels important and relevant to our times. We're glad we came!