Our sophomore release “Another World” is available now on Pravda Records.

The Flat Five returns! Chicago’s beloved band of in-demand music biz ringers - Kelly Hogan and Nora O’Connor (Neko Case, The Decemberists), Scott Ligon and Casey McDonough (NRBQ) and Alex Hall (J.D. McPherson) - are releasing their second album of twisted sunshine vocal pop.  Another World is being issued by Pravda Records/Augiedisc Records on November 13th on CD, 12” vinyl LP, digital download and via streaming platforms. 

Another World was produced by band member Scott Ligon and The Flat Five. It was recorded/engineered by Flat Five drummer Alex Hall at his popular Chicago studio, Reliable Recorders with some additional sessions done at Wilco’s gearhead paradise, The Loft, engineered by Mark Greenberg.  

The charms of this band are manifest. These guys are all about vocal harmony — five hardcore vocal buzz junkies — and they share a vast range of influences from The Free Design to The Three Degrees to Captain Beefheart and a restless desire to explore a song from the inside out: to see just how far out it’ll go. This sophomore album showcases The Flat Five’s trademark keen musicianship and their slightly subversive sense of humor. It’s marked by the playful wide-eyed sweetness that colors all their music, tempered with their appreciation for how freaking good it feels to listen to a beautiful bummer on repeat sometimes. Like Charles Schultz said: “Happiness is a Sad Song.” 

All the new album’s songs were written by Scott Ligon’s older brother, the impossible-to-pigeonhole mad musical genius, Chris Ligon whose songs have been featured on the hit Showtime series Weeds and the Dr. Demento Show. This follows the precedent of their acclaimed 2016 debut, It’s a World of Love and Hope, an album that scored big with critics and fans alike, including high-profile Flat Five afficionados like Nick Lowe and Jeff Tweedy.  

Another World took just over a year to complete from start to finish, as band members had to steal recording time from their respective busy schedules performing and touring with other projects. This is the way it’s been since the group began as a “musical snowball” in the mid-aughts.