Exclusive video premiere of ‘Don’t Push A Man’ by Milan McAlevey, taken from the upcoming album, ‘Bucksport Motel,’ out May 10, 2024 via Fortune Teller.

Milan McAlevey is returning today, to share his brand new single “Don’t Push A Man”. This is the first track he’s sharing from upcoming LP, ‘Bucksport Motel,’ due out May 10th.

“‘Don’t Push A Man’ is one of those songs that came very easily,” says McAlevey. “It’s an observation on the vagaries of life and the karmic wheel. If you live long enough you see great people rise and fall often enough that a quiet life away from the spotlight becomes an unexpected treasure. It’s also a reminder to always be kind, no matter your circumstances, you may be king for a day, but the other shoe will always drop, if I may combine multiple cliches.”

The track is shared alongside a video that takes us along with McAlevey, singing along in his truck, supercut with clips of old films.

A lot of the songs on Bucksport Motel are about the effects of booze on the soul. “Alcohol is too damn strong. It can completely change the way you see the world in a matter of minutes. No wonder it has a near divine status in human culture inspiring entire genres of music from Palm-Wine to Honky Tonk.” Speaking on the latter, McAlevey grew up listening to country music, but It wasn’t until a deep dive with Brian Eno’s Apollo soundtrack that he appreciated the “weightless glide inherent in stuff like old Freddy Fender records.” McAlevey continues, “Not to overstate it but I had to get my lap steel chops together on the old Magnatone to achieve zero gravity. That opened up a great big canvas onto which the lyrics easily poured. Those lyrics cover a lot of territory but Bucksport Motel is not just a fleabag flophouse that may or not actually exist in Downeast Maine (think Stephen King land), it’s also a metaphysical plane where a life seemingly lived in utter chaos is revealed to be the handiwork of a great and loving spirit.”

Speaking on the album as a whole, McAlevey shares “These songs began as sketches I recorded at my project space, which is named Blue Cream Studio, after my dilute tortoiseshell cat. Early in the process I enlisted two kids local to my neighborhood in South Portland, Maine, except they’re not kids anymore; my nephew Chris DiRocco played those classic Yamaha DX7 electric pianos and his friend Sam Patnode Andersen played the drums. I really wanted some steel guitar and quickly realized I’d have to do it myself.” McAlevey procured a Magnatone lap steel with matching amplifier from the 1950s and painstakingly learned to get around on that, which he says was an extremely calming, meditative experience- so much so that 9 out of 10 songs feature his rudimentary lap steel stylings. “Thankfully my oldest, dearest friend Walter Martin (The Walkmen) came to my rescue once again and contributed a bunch of instruments and backup vocals from his studio in upstate New York. He can play any instrument, but it’s always his unique and musically sensitive voice. Lastly, my nephew Chris and two old friends from the heady days of the teens, Nina Donghia and Eric Gagne contributed lovely backup vocals so the record sounds a bit more well-rounded and not just another one-man show.”

Milan McAlevey Instagram / Bandcamp
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