Saul Goodman finally broke something that wasn't bad. That day, Bob Odenkirk — who immortalized the notorious "Better Call Saul" character on the acclaimed TV show Breaking Bad — announced to the world that the Afghan Whigs were releasing their first new album in 16 years. Hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio, the Afghan Whigs proved one of the most individual bands to rise out of the post-Nirvana musical landscape. The group's masterpieces — 1993's Gentlemen and Black Love — forged brutally personal song cycles out of kinetic hard rock, soul swagger and outsider abandon in a way that didn't resemble the grunge ubiquity of their brethren
After such a long gap, how did a new Afghan Whigs album come into being?
Greg Dulli: The first time we discussed it was after we played with Usher in Austin last year. It was some time after the reunion tour had ended, and we hadn't thought about playing together again; then we were approached with such a cool idea, so we figured, "Why not?" It went so well, we were like, "Maybe we do want to continue this."
What was Usher like to work with?
John Curley: Usher may be a big superstar, but that wasn't the vibe. He came in like he was part of the band. He was enthusiastic, totally open and practiced harder than anyone.
Greg Dulli: Usher actually got to rehearsals before I did! He's a cool cat — he sent me a Christmas card this year. He was playing bass when I walked in. He immediately took it off, walked over and shook my hand, and we got right down to business. We did one of our songs, "Somethin' Hot," and then "Climax," and "OMG." It was just really cool; he liked how we were playing his songs. When we took a break, Usher was like, "What are you listening to lately?" I played him "Runnin'" by [electronic artist/producer] Sinkane, and he really liked it — so much we actually got in touch with Sinkane and played it with him during our set! Doing that Usher show was like starting a band for the first time — just inviting someone over and working on songs. Usher, along with Mark Lanegan and Björk, is one of the three best singers I've ever seen sing up close. He can do things with his voice that are just effortless. I've listened to Michael Jackson my whole life, and Usher has that Michael thing. It was thrilling.
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