Michigan-based artist Alex Hirsch has released “Does Anybody Care?,” a piano-and-saxophone track written by longtime collaborator Carl Paradise that draws on Cold War-era “duck and cover” drills and references the Doomsday Clock to connect that history with present-day anxieties, according to the announcement.
The song follows the pair’s recent single “Memory Lane” and marks a shift in tone for the collaboration, according to the announcement, with the arrangement moving toward a Steely Dan-influenced sound that Hirsch has drawn on since discovering the band as a child in Reseda, California. Hirsch takes lead vocals, backed by Tripp Sprague on saxophone and horns, Jen Gomes on harmony vocals, and Paradise contributing harmony vocals, keyboards, horns and percussion. Mark Hattersley plays piano, keyboards, drums and percussion, with Dave Buerger on bass.
Hirsch, Paradise and Hattersley produced, arranged and mixed the track together. Hirsch has been playing guitar and piano since 1976 and cites the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Steely Dan among his formative influences.
Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Eric Alper, thatericalper.com.