Today, author/musician Scott Guild has released a new song, “Boytoy.” The song is the second released from his upcoming release, Plastic: The Album, which will be out on April 26th.
“Boytoday” celebrates the release today of Guild’s debut novel, Plastic (out now via Penguin Random House), the sister project to the album. Together the album and book lead audiences into a surreal near-future world, peopled by plastic figurines and filled with the perils of climate crisis and a recent nuclear war.
The album and novel both tell the story of Erin James, a lonely plastic woman in her twenties, struggling to escape her past and build a new life with Jacob, the figurine she loves, but challenged by the chaos that surrounds her. The singer Stranger Cat (Sufjan Stevens, The Shins) stars as Erin on the album, embodying the fears and desires of the plastic protagonist.
Of “Boytoy, ” Guild says, “This is the second song on the record, and it finds Erin in a very dark place: isolated, grieving, and longing for connection. She orders a companion on ‘Hot Date’ (a futuristic phone app), but can’t even get through dinner with the man who arrives–especially after she mentions her father’s death of the dreaded Brad Pitt Disease. Erin hasn’t met Jacob yet, and she feels like she might always remain alone. ‘A Doll’s House,’ the other song we’re releasing today, is the first song on the album, and serves as an introduction to Erin and her plastic world.”
Listen to “Boytoy” below.
The album is a collaboration between Guild and the artist and producer Cindertalk (Son Lux, My Brightest Diamond), as well as the Grammy-winning producer Peter Katis (The National, Sharon Van Etten). Scott also drew on his background as the songwriter/guitarist of the Boston band New Collisions, which toured with the B-52s and opened for Blondie. Plastic: The Albumallowed him to explore a different kind of songwriting, creating a concept record in the tradition of Joni Mitchell, The Kinks, Pink Floyd, Kate Bush, Kendrick Lamar, and Jazmine Sullivan, using the album format to tell a compelling story song by song.
In support of Plastic, Guild will leave today on a national book and music tour. The run kicks off tonight in New York City and concludes in Lincoln, NE on March 4. He and his collaborators will perform songs from the album at select dates, including New York City on February 13, Los Angeles on February 20, San Francisco on February 21 and Portland, OR on February 23. All dates are listed below.
Scott Guild Book + Music Tour
2/13 – McNally Jackson Books, Seaport – New York, NY- Book and Single Release Party (music performance with Stranger Cat) *
2/15 – Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore – Middletown, CT
2/16 – Brookline Booksmith – Brookline, MA
2/17 – Francie & Finch Bookstore – Lincoln, NE
2/18 – The Bookworm – Omaha, NE
2/19 – BookPeople – Austin, TX
2/20 – Chevalier Books – Los Angeles, CA (music performance w/Cindertalk) *
2/21 – Green Apple Books – San Francisco, CA (music performance w/Cindertalk) *
2/23 – Powell’s City Of Books- Portland, OR (music performance w/Cindertalk) *
3/4 – University of Nebraska – Lincoln, NE
3/14 – Marian University – Indianapolis, IN
* = includes musical performance
