Fresh off the release of "Say Goodbye To Pretty Boy," Strange’s spread-like-wildfire EP of The National covers, Bartees is set to release his debut full length "Live Forever" via Memory Music. The EP caught glowing coverage from Billboard, Stereogum and The Fader and garnered rosy co-signs from a grocery list of celebrities like actor Ryan Reynolds, Paramore’s Hayley Williams, poet Hanif Abdurraqib, and The National’s own Fresh off the release of 'Say Goodbye To Pretty Boy, Strange’s spread-like-wildfire EP of The National covers, Bartees is set to release his debut full length 'Live Forever' via Memory Music. The EP caught glowing coverage from Billboard, Stereogum, and The Fader and garnered rosy co-signs from a grocery list of celebrities like actor Ryan Reynolds, Paramore’s Hayley Williams, poet Hanif Abdurraqib, and The National’s own Matt Berninger. The EP served as a tender love letter to his favorite band and an introduction to his own carefully-curated musical aesthetics. A limited vinyl pressing of the EP on Bandcamp sold out quickly.

Strange grew up in Mustang, Oklahoma, an overwhelmingly white and racist sundown town on the outskirts of Oklahoma City. In Mustang, he says, “I didn’t let myself be seen. I held myself down so I could make people feel more comfortable around me.” On his new record, Strange has ground that former conviction to dust, and replaced it with a new one: “‘Just tie me up.’ I’d rather die than not be myself again.”

Live Forever is a direct and stunning result of this conviction. It’s impossible to divorce the reality of Strange’s personal trajectory from the intricate and idiosyncratic 11-track saga on record: it spans gentle, Moses Sumney-meets-Yves Jarvis minimalism, Killers-ish indie rock vigor with post-punk cracks in its danceable veneer, the throbbing industrial alt-soul of Algiers, Justin Vernon’s acoustic tenderness, and the volatile, unforgiving production and delivery of Death Grips. Simply put, it is a combination that none but Strange could execute under — and as a result of — precise circumstances.