What happens when a New York Doll meets his XTC hero for songs on a new album

This could be a great album to look out for. Ex-New York Doll guitarist Steve Conte has been working with Andy Partridge from the UK band XTC on songs for a new record. It’s coming out on Record Store Day, April 20 and the early signs are that it’s going to be an absolute banger.

Although Conte will forever be linked with the New York Dolls after being a band member from 2004 to 2010 he’s got a huge music background and tastes way beyond just being a proto-punk. He has worked and played with a wide range of artists over the years, including Chuck Berry, Paul Simon, Willy De Ville, Alice Cooper, and Eric Burdon to name just a few. Conte was also back with Michael Monroe as a band member again earlier this year on tour in Japan.

His focus now is on his new and soon-to-be-released solo album, The Concrete Jangle. Conte has been working on it for a while but the heavy work on getting it ready is almost behind him now. As he awaits the release he seems particularly excited to have worked with Partridge, one of his own personal music heroes, for five of the ten new songs on the disc. 

Steve Conte and his XTC hero Andy Partridge

XTC were a UK rock band that fitted somewhere around punk and new wave. They had a slightly quirky style evident on several brilliant albums and hit singles in the late 1970s and early 80s. Conte hails them as being one of his all-time favorite bands and sees the chance to work with Partridge as a dream come true. 

The pair linked up after a connection through Steve Lillywhite who Conte knew and had produced a couple of XTC albums. Conversations, meetings, and more followed, and before long Partridge had agreed to break his halt on songwriting for others to work with Conte on the new album.

The Concrete Jangle will lead with the five tracks written jointly by Conte and Partridge. The second five are all by Conte. It looks as though we can expect quite a variety of music with the album being described as ranging from soft to heavy rock ‘n roll with power pop and psychedelia mixed in there too. 

Preview three tracks from the new Steve Conte album

The album is being released on Wicked Cool Records, a label owned by Stevie Van Zandt, and will be available on all the usual platforms and streaming services. Ahead of that, we’ve already had the chance to hear three tracks from it. “Fourth Of July” was out last summer, “Shoot Out The Stars” earlier this year, and “We Like It” in March, with a 60-strong list of backing singers including many amazing names. 

The three songs so far are all co-written with Partridge, full of super guitar as you'd expect from Conte, and great songs. There’s a nice bounce and rhythm to them and that mass chorus on “We Like It” is an excellent fit. They promise much for The Concrete Jangle.

The album promises a lot based on those early tracks and Partridge has given it his unique endorsement too - “Steve Conte has more hair than me and is a better guitar player than I am. I hate him and tried to ruin his new album The Concrete Jangle, by writing half of it with him. I failed, it came out great.” More details of the album and its release on on SteveConteMusic.com and RecordStoreDay.com. 

Concrete Jangle tracklist

Fourth of July
Hey Hey Hey (Aren’t You The One?)
We Like It
Shoot Out The Stars
One Last Bell
Motor City Love Machine
All Tied Up
Decomposing A Song For You
Girl With No Name
I Dream Her

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