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release due in october 2001

august 1, 2001

moth wranglers is a bi-coastal musical collaboration between multi-instrumentalist/producer and resident of san francisco, chris xefos (ex-king missile) and songwriter ld beghtol (frontman of nyc chamberpop ensemble flare, and guest vocalist on the magnetic fields' "69 love songs"). together as moth wranglers, beghtol and xefos create songs that explore their mutual love of obscure pop histrionics and arcane instrumentation.

their first action as a duo was to recapitulate/regurgitate the song “#13 baby” for lifelike records‘ tribute to the infamous 80’s boston post-punk band, the pixies. “pixies fuckin’ die” garnered some excellent press and managed not to bankrupt the label. a seven-inch vinyl single on mother west followed, featuring a texas swing toe-tapper about british serial killer/cannibal, denis nilsen, on it's a-side and a hyperdramatic, subaquatic sound collage about miscommunication for its atmospheric b-side. guerilla-style performances featuring the pair - and a small pink leather pig named eleanor - were launched in new york and san francisco, culminating in a showcase at the 2001 south by southwest music festival in austin, tx. often moth wranglers live shows have left audiences wondering what they had just seen, but knowing they wanted more.

in october 2001, moth wranglers will place theur full-length debut release, “never mind the context,” before the public. for this recording, xefos and beghtol are joined by a galaxy of indie-pop stars including victor krummenacher and jonathan segel (camper van beethoven), stephin merritt and claudia gonson (the magnetic fields/future bible heroes), alison faith levy (the loud family), ken stringfellow (the posies), bill tutton (geraldine fibbers), and for good measure novelists bertie marshall (”psychoboys”) and daniel handler (the “a series of unfortunate events” books). “never mind the context” delivers a baker’s dozen songs spanning nearly as many genres — from the psychotic hoedown of the album’s single, “turnabout,” to the bright and bouncy sunday-in-the-park singalong, “figure-bround,” to vintage psychedelic rockers and gospel-tinged laments, armed with everything from guitars, ukuleles, accordians, marxophones, vintage keyboards of all sorts, autoharps, xylophones and aqualins to whatever else they can find and pretend to play, moth wrangers make a noise that one critic has called “a disconcerting and beautiful dichotomy of electronic and classical instruments, punctuating pauses and conversational layers of sound, dark humor and light-hearted horror.”

beghtol and xefos think of the album (and the moth wranglers experience in general) as a good old-fashioned vaudeville show… coming soon to a circle of hell near you.