American Deceptionalism

In early 2025 I received a message from the phenomenal Ohio-based songwriter and producer BKFitz (Sean Michael Fitzgerel) asking if I wanted to contribute a vocal collaboration to one of his tracks. I sent him back my proposal - what would become the single “Wasted” - and it quickly became apparent that we wanted to go further with the collab. In the end we worked out 10 tracks - with BKFitz producing the music and Mannequin Shop adding lyrics, vocals, and some occasional contributions on guitar. There are three tracks on the record that were old Mannequin Shop ideas - “Hate”, “IOU”, and “Anymore” and the rest were files that Sean had sitting in his hard drive.

The record talks about my upbringing in the American exurbs - of the illusions and the disappointments of the American Dream, and of the sort of challenges and experiences faced by millions of people who grew up in the American landscape of the 90s and 2000s.

It’s decidedly more hardcore / punk than most of Mannequin Shop’s catalogue, but there is no small amount of continuity in the lyrical style, the particular humor and wry resignation of the texts, and the melodic approaches. This album is deeply meaningful to me and I hope it will speak to something familiar in your life as well.