Jonathan Bree releases ‘Pre-Code Hollywood’ LP

New Zealand’s Jonathan Bree has released his brilliant new album ‘Pre-Code Hollywood’ via his own Lil’ Chief Records, in partnership with Secretly Distribution. Along with the album release, he also shared a whimsical, cinematic new video for standout album track When We Met. Lamenting the arc of a relationship in which young love turns to old love (or worse), the song mourns the loss of both early infatuation, and–more cuttingly–the loss of who you once were in someone else’s eyes. Across ‘Pre-Code Hollywood,’ Bree explores these sorts of complicated, often poignant relationship dynamics with winking wisdom, all set to the stirring sounds of driving synths, bendy strings, and dark, orchestral electro. Watch the video for When We Met via YouTube below.

Previous pre-release singles Pre-Code Hollywood and Miss You both feature sizzling guitar and production work from the legendary Nile Rodgers, and are part of a trilogy of music videos set in the late 1970’s on a fictional Top of the Pops-style live TV show called Radio Vision (also including You Are The Man). Dick Driver makes a guest appearance as the host, mimicking his role in New Zealand’s influential early music video program Radio With Pictures, which aired from 1976 to 1989 and was a catalyst for MTV. The singles earned great press from PAPER, CLASH, Brooklyn Vegan, The Alternative, Guitar World, and more.

A dark disco album full of sad bangers, ‘Pre-Code Hollywood’ is Bree’s most exciting and pop-forward work to date. The album’s celestial opening notes transport listeners to a complex sonic world that celebrates classic pop of a bygone era, while experimenting with the avant-garde in a way that is distinctly modern.

Bree is well-known for his carefully crafted visual style; he and his band are never seen without their masks, an aesthetic on full display in the video for his breakthrough 2017 hit You’re So Cool, which has amassed over 29 million views on YouTube and was voted Time Out New York’s music video of that year. Gaining a cult following through extensive touring across the globe, this anonymous, masked persona also extends to his live shows, where he and his band play against a backdrop of cinematic projections created specifically for each song as two dancers perform otherworldly choreography.

Live dates

4/14/2023 – Silent Green – Berlin, GER

4/15/2023 – Pop Salon @ Haus der Jugend – Osnabrück, GER

4/16/2023 – Ekko – Utrecht, NL

4/18/2023 – Bogen F – Zürich, CH

4/19/2023 – Trabendo – Paris, FR

4/20/2023 – Oslo – London, UK

4/21/2023 – Le Grand Mix – Tourcoing, FR

4/22/2023 – Brise Glace – Annecy, FR

4/23/2023 – Le Ciel – Grenoble, FR

4/24/2023 – Bronson – Ravenna, IT

4/26/2023 – Kino Siska – Ljubljana, SLO

4/27/2023 – Instant – Budapest, HUN

4/28/2023 – Mochvara – Zagreb, SRB

5/1/2023 – Strom – Munich, GER

5/2/2023 – Fleda – Brno, CZ

5/3/2023 – Arena – Vienna, AT

5/4/2023 – Palac Akropolis – Prague, CZ

5/5/2023 – Hybrydy – Warsaw, PL

5/6/2023 – Dizzly Grizzly – Gdansk, PL

5/12/2023 – Control Club – Bucharest, ROM