Augie March frontman Glenn Richards has shared his first official solo song, ‘Hi Gene!’.
A satirical music video was dropped alongside the track, which you can watch below:
The song’s title is a play on words with “hygiene” – a direct reference to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Per a press release, ‘Hi Gene!’ is a “hilarious, danceable mantra to this weird moment in time and one to look back on as the soundtrack of the ‘lost year(s)'”.
Augie March had been gearing up for a national tour in May, but most of their shows have now been postponed to November due to nationwide travel restrictions.
“Augie had a big year planned and we’re hoping to be able to reschedule our Sunset Studies shows for November, but the virus has meant that a planned album will now take a back seat to something entirely new and, so far, really bloody good,” said Richards in a statement.
The singer-songwriter also promised a forthcoming solo record this year, and an additional Augie March record in 2021.
“I’m confident we’ll see an excellent GR album this year followed by an extraordinary AM album next year,” he said.
“In the meantime I hope you enjoy this half cut home brew, it harks a little to my early years when I had more brain cells but there were far less chords in music. The gist is we need to be clean with our bodies but our culture, in general, could use a little more dirt beneath its fingernails. Also, dogs are the best people. Stay safe and spread this ludicrous clip like it’s a vaccine. Xg2020.”
Although ‘Hi Gene!’ is Richards’ first official solo material, in 2010 the singer released an eponymous LP entitled ‘Glimjack’, which he called a collaborative project between The Drones‘ Dan Luscombe and Mike Noga, Chris Richards (Dust) and Ben Bourke (Ned Collette and Wirewalker).