New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Pop-Rock Duo The Mangoes will be releasing their new EP "Pale Blue Dot" on July 19, 2021. The Mangoes was formed by Tim Morse and Bret Bingham in 2014. Conceived as a songwriting collective, their first album "The Mangoes" was well received as a pop-rock, tongue-in-cheek concept album. After a break where Bret and Tim both released solo albums, they have reformed and are about to release a new EP entitled "Pale Blue Dot."
Says Bret, "In general, the concept of the CD was inspired by the existential musings of Carl Sagan and his observation that 'The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena.' The extension of this is to look outward, beyond our myopic viewpoints, and realize that each of us is a very small part of something much larger." Tim continues, "I see the album as a song cycle with 'Pale Blue Dot' as the starting and ending point, it is the fulcrum of this music. All of the other songs are vignettes about people and events that take place on the 'Pale Blue Dot.'"
At the beginning of the pandemic Tim got in touch with Bret about making some music together - not necessarily reviving The Mangoes. For example, they had recently done a cover of the
Pink Floyd song "Dogs" (that appeared on Tim Morse's last album "The Archaeology Project") and it was just credited to Morse/Bingham. However, Bret sent Tim around ten song ideas and the majority of them seemed to be Mango-y songs, so the duo leaned into that direction. There are a variety of genres on this project, there's a blues-y gospel feel to "
Hypnotized" and a The Band/Dylan vibe of "When the Sky Fell Down." It isn't Progressive Rock, but has an Art-Rock flavor like the Alan Parsons Project, The
Moody Blues and even a bit of Pink Floyd.
Says Bret, "I had a rough outline for most of the songs. Tim helped me with the initial selection of songs to work on and then was a sounding board, helping to fill in the gaps wherever it was needed. Tim chose the Beatles' song 'Free as a Bird' as a cover. I was very pleased with how the themes of the song and overall feel fit in with the rest of the songs."
Tim and Bret had recorded The Mangoes eponymous debut album remotely, so they continued this process. It involves a lot of file sharing and emails. But this worked well during the pandemic.
Says Tim, "Bret and I have a very easy working relationship. We were in a band together before we started The Mangoes and we've been friends for years so there is a lot of shorthand between us. Also, there's an openness about making suggestions regarding the music and arrangements, etc. I wish all recording projects were as smooth!"
The Mangoes: Bret Bingham is a singer, songwriter and guitarist. His music has appeared on multiple television and cable shows including
Access Hollywood, Fox's Brimstone, E True Hollywood Story and MTV's Made. Bret's latest solo album is "The Well Curve" and was released in 2017.
Tim Morse is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was a member of the Jerry Jennings Band and Parallels (Yes tribute). He has released three albums of original music that were well received in the Progressive Rock community. Tim's most recent album is a retrospective entitled "The Archaeology Project." He is an author and his books "Yesstories" and "Classic Rock Stories" were published by the St. Martin's Press.
Here's what the press has said about The Mangoes:
"Beatles-esque pop tinged with Prog-rock elements." - Anil Parasad, Innerviews
"Like Klaatu at times, but also very much like The Beatles." -
Music Street Journal
"The Mangoes bring the spirit of 20th century pop-rock alive and well into the 21st century." - Robert Silverstein, mwe3.com
"Refreshing, I would say!" -
Music in Belgium
"An interesting band with perhaps the most unique sound today." - Criticaljazz.com
"An absolute delight!" -
Simon Barrett, blogtalkradio
"The nineteen songs are concise pop gems." - papasrecordsandcds.com
"The Mangoes are actually what happens when you mix progressive rock with the pop sensibilities of The Beatles!" - Exclusive Magazine
In closing Bret has this to impart, "The lesson of the Pale Blue Dot is to preserve and cherish what we've got. I think that is a fine message." Says Tim, "Sagan's speech talks about how fragile and unique our planet is and how we should be better caretakers of it - I think that is reflected in the songs as well."
The Mangoes hope to release a new video soon!
To purchase: https://timmorse.bandcamp.com/album/pale-blue-dot
https://themangoesband.com/home
https://www.facebook.com/themangoesyeah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bJwUomM86k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXHlUZYDQQI
