If you've ever been lucky enough to see the great Hattiesburg, Mississippi synth-punk band MSPAINT, then you've witnessed an elite weirdo display from the band's frontman, who goes by the name Deedee. He is a true wildman in voice, demeanor, and sartorial preference. (More than once, I've seen him perform with one sleeve and one pant leg cut off, which looks fascinatingly wrong.) MSPAINT were a Stereogum Band to Watch in 2023, and they released the excellent EP No Separation last year. Now, Deedee is resurrecting his solo alias Him Horrison.
About a decade ago, Deedee started making psychedelic folk music as Him Horrison — which, like "Deedee," is presumably not his government name. Him Horrison has a pretty extensive Bandcamp back catalog, starting with 2015's Join The Cult, but Deedee hasn't released anything under that name since 2021's Atonal Obituary. Now, he's bringing it back. In just over a week, Deedee will release the Him Horrison album Starting Not To Hurt. He recorded the LP at home on a Tascam eight-track, and his MSPAINT bandmate Nick Panella produced and mixed it.
In a press release, Deedee talks about the decision to bring Him Horrison back:
I wanted to revisit Him Horrison after some years of not feeling attached to it. The earlier version of the project was me recording everything on my own and then sometimes have ten-plus members on stage and we’d all party real hard. I don’t live that lifestyle anymore, and it made me feel distant from the music, so I made this album as a way to reconnect with the songs and the singularity of making them. I felt like the project grew into the new person I’ve become...
It used to be painful to revisit Him Horrison because the music would remind me of times I was less proud of how I'd carried myself. But after making this album and putting more work into it than any other release for the project, it felt like the pain reflected the growth in a way I didn’t appreciate until I engaged with the feelings more.
Today, we hear the new song "Crystalized," which is my introduction to the Him Horrison project and maybe also yours. It sounds nothing like MSPAINT, though it does have some of that adventurous spirit. Here, Deedee is singing about hard-won wisdom. He's doing it over lo-fi acoustic guitars and swirling strings. It sounds really cool. Below, check out "Crystalized" and the Starting Not To Hurt tracklist.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Crystalized"
02 "Sound Of Trees"
03 "If I Could"
04 "Boring"
05 "Fall Off"
06 "Heal Me"
07 "Fire In Your Head"
08 "Tell A Lie"
09 "Just Stay"
10 "Dies From Sadness"
Starting Not To Hurt is out 2/4; pre-order it here. Him Horrison will play a 2/7 show with Glitterer at Fatcat in Hattiesburg.
