Watch Superfan's 'When You Come To L.A.' Video

06-02-2024

(Orienteer) Superfan, the alias of Kali Flanagan, shares his new single and music video "When You Come To LA." The fifth single before the release of his new album Tow Truck Jesus due June 28th via Nettwerk, "When You Come To LA" was the first song written for the album and acts as a map of the knots in Superfan's relationship with the world and himself through the context of the assumption that others see the narrator embodied solely by his perceived flaws. Flanagan's reference to the Magnetic Fields on the track, "I can't stop listening to I Don't Wanna Get Over You", reveals their influence on Flanagan's flippant and sardonic use of blunt admittance. After listening to the album in full, the opener can also be thought of as foreshadowing Flanagan's transition, the end of relationships and his move to New York City.

Throughout the album, Superfan's personal reflections are written into songs bare all like raw nerves, bravely telling the story of his own coming of age with a sense of wisdom that feels many years removed from its events. These stories, including previous singles "Your Desire in Food," "Sewn Up and Handsome" and "75 Germany," form the core of Flanagan's forthcoming debut album.

To commemorate the album's release, Superfan will be performing a string of live shows this July in NYC, San Francisco and LA with support from Quiet Light, Operelly, and Autobahn.

Written between the Falls of 2022 and 2023, Tow Truck Jesus is 11 intricate chronological songs that capture Flanagan undergoing Hormone Replacement Therapy and coming of age as a young man, with his voice settling into a gravelly lower register as well as finding comfort in young adulthood and his relationship with himself and love. The new music features overdriven detuned guitars and Casio keyboards with a charming likeness to the intimate indie rock of the 2000s.

Superfan has been the driving force behind his music, serving as singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer simultaneously. On Tow Truck Jesus, he embraces a new approach, drawing inspiration from the challenges and feedback of former collaborator Tony Berg and working with producer Gabriel Wax (Soccer Mommy, Adrianne Lenker). He opted to restrict himself to a single instrument during the songwriting phase and gradually build out the songs. The results are raw and stripped-down songs that amplify his exceptional voice and lyrics, anchored by the levity of the album's title, which stems from a shared jest between Flanagan and his father, Patrick, who joked that when the hitch of a tow truck is raised, it resembles a cross.