Los Angeles-based experimental indie-rock singer-songwriter Unfortunately Steven, aka Steven Ramirez, will drop his new concept album, Groovy Avocado Disco, on May 6.
The title of the album – Groovy Avocado Disco – is an acronym for Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
Steven explains, “The concept of the album is a full therapy session from start to finish. From walking into the session, a human balloon filled with crippling anxiety and depression, to leaving deflated and ready to take on the week. The album begins by walking into therapy, sitting down, and spilling the daily truth. The therapist guides the listener through these thoughts and grounds them through mindfulness. The album tackles the human condition, depression, drugs, addiction, capitalism, and personal issues related to my father. As the album is experienced, the songs begin to empty and become more real, meaning that the listener, or myself, is expressing these heavy feelings and then becoming lighter by being honest with oneself.”
Inspired by his love for concept albums such as Pet Sounds, The Wall, and The Point, as well as his own journey to mental health, Unfortunately Steven’s sound blends indie-rock, musical theater, psychedelia, and wall-of-sound features into innovative sonic concoctions.
Steven shares, “As a society, we tend to shy away from dark thoughts or depressed feelings, but they are simply a part of the human condition. Everyone deals with struggles and people who say they don’t are living in denial. My goal for this album is to establish the harsh realities of mental illness, and what it’s truly like in the mind of an anxiously depressed individual.”
More than just a collection of songs, the album is meant to be listened to sequentially.
Encompassing 20-tracks, entry points include “People Are Stupid,” featuring a dark, sleazy-flavored melody, riding a sidling rhythm as Steven’s scoffing voice narrates the state of most of humanity.
“People are stupid / And I’ve lost hope.”
“Life Is Too Expensive” rolls out on a buoyant piano, imbuing the tune with burlesque-lite tones, while Steven sings about the cost of living, money woes, and inflation.
“But the cost of livings too high / It’s higher than that one hippie guy / That we saw at the dispensary / Mm, Life’s too Expensive for me.”
A personal favorite, “Peace of Shit,” travels on punchy rock guitars with hints of punk-rock running through it.
Interspersed throughout with “Therapy” sessions, ranging from 1 to 7, the album probes into the facets of the human psyche.
At once imaginative and adroit, with Groovy Avocado Disco, Unfortunately Steven takes on mental health with honesty.
