Milquetoast & Co. Is Back With New Music and Live Show on Friday

James McAndrew has been exploring a new creative gateway for his band, Milquetoast & Co. “I knew I wanted to make the next album a location project, and I wanted to work with esteemed engineer Kevin Ratterman, who happens to live in Alhambra, just nine miles northeast of Los Angeles,” says the Denver-based singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. “For the first time, I flew the band out to California to record the new songs.”

Ratterman has worked with such heavyweights as My Morning Jacket, Afghan Whigs, Ray LaMontagne, Flaming Lips and Murder by Death.

Prior to the band’s trip to the West Coast, McAndrew says, he and Milquetoast co-writer/bassist Dan Zangari developed the meat and potatoes of the songs. “I started putting together song ideas for Dan to develop his bass parts to so we could play what we have to the rest of the band, which is how we begin the creative process,” he explains.

The Denver sextet comprises mostly East Coast musicians — from Boston, New York and New Jersey — and its music has drawn comparisons to Tom Waits, Morphine, Jeff Buckley, even a little DeVotchKa, among others. The band's eclectic sound — a blend of indie rock, blues, rockabilly and Americana — is brought to life by McAndrew’s emotive vocals and wry, witty, sometimes melancholic storytelling; Zangari’s bass lines; Kyle Bocchieri’s drum work; Joe Engel’s cello technique and rich tone; Ben Parrish’s guitar style; and the talented horn dexterity of Sam Oatts, who also handles the string arrangements for Milquetoast & Co. and co-produces alongside McAndrew.

The band first recorded demo versions in its Denver studio last year. “We wanted to have our own collective time to massage our parts,” says McAndrew. “I didn’t want to end up still writing the songs once we were in the studio in L.A.”

The bandmates went to Ratterman’s studio, Invisible Island, to hammer out the new songs off the forthcoming album, Run Rant Rave.

“Kevin was kind enough to host the band at his historic house that was built in the 1970s, which sits on one and a half acres of land,” says McAndrew. “It’s beautiful. There are lemon groves around. His studio, which is separated by the garage, was a perfect space and setting to record.”

For the next nine days, Milquetoast & Co. recorded ten songs with Ratterman and mastering engineer Nathan James.

“It made a big difference for the band to be together every day. It was a wonderful bonding experience all around,” reflects McAndrew. “We prepared every morning by listening to the demos we were working on that day. By eleven o’clock, we were in the studio, setting up, laying down tracks for the instruments and vocals.”

Milquetoast & Co. brought in some additional musicians to broaden its musical palette on Run Rant Rave, notes McAndrew: “Ashley Jarmack plays the English horn, flute and oboe, Grady Kinnoin the pedal steel, and Brad Garner the organ.” McAndrew also invited the Section Quartet, a renowned string quartet with two violinists, one viola player and one cellist whose sound leans more toward rock than traditional classical. “They played on half of the tracks on the new album, which is phenomenal," he says. "They've worked with Beck, the Foo Fighters and many top artists and producers.”

The band’s current lead single off Run Rant Rave, “Spinning," dropped a couple of weeks ago. "The song is important to me lyrically because it speaks to the confusion that sets in through our early lives. Ultimately, some people evolve from those life experiences, and some people refuse to move forward," explains McAndrew. "Sonically, the song counters the layered messages; I picture Don Quixote and Sancho Panza riding off into the sunset, forgetting what they made the trip for in the first place, yet at peace with the journey regardless."

A cover of the Moody Blues' “Nights in White Satin” will also be released in a few weeks. Milquetoast & Co. returns to the stage on Friday, April 14, with a headlining show at the Mercury Cafe. Tomato Soup and Ellsworth will open the concert.

The band, originally based in Boston, self-released two albums prior to parting ways in late 2010 for myriad reasons that ranged from parenthood to world travel and self-discovery. Moving to the Mile High City in 2014 to be with his now-wife, McAndrew worked in business before re-establishing the band. In 2021, Milquetoast & Co. released Shiny (little) Mind, a well-received, sultry ten-track album that drew on elements of rock, jazz, folk and Americana.

McAndrew says the band plans to release a new song every six weeks before making Run Rant Rave available for public consumption in October. He is especially excited to see fans' reaction to the Moody Blues cover song.

“‘Nights in White Satin’ is especially dear to my heart. I don't typically like doing covers, let alone a monster like that. It was a bold move, and I wasn't sure it was going to make the record until we tracked the whole thing and it really worked out after all," McAndrew says. "But it's a song that I have loved since I was a child, and I pray we did it justice. At the end of the day, my wife loves the song, so I had to do it for her.”

BandWagon Presents: Milquetoast & Co., with Tomato Soup and Ellsworth, 7 p.m. Friday, April 14, Mercury Cafe, 2199 California Street. Tickets start at $10.