Stream: Hanni El Khatib, ‘Moonlight’

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Hanni El Khatib is all about moving on. This week the L.A.-based musician/graphic artist/skateboarder unveiled the title track to his third album, “Moonlight,” which is a departure from his savage 2013 album “Head in the Dirt,” which was a departure from his 2011 debut “Will the Guns Come Out.” In announcing the new record – which was made at the L.A. studio the Lair with engineer Sonny DiPerri, drummer Ron Marinelli and guests including string player Tom Lea – the singer-songwriter talked a lot about challenging himself. “What would it sound like if RZA got in the studio with Iggy Pop and Tom Waits?” he added. “I don’t know! That was my approach on everything.” The first single is a buzzing stomp laid down over a bed of not-so-mellow Mellotron, interrupted 2-plus minutes in by an even filthier guitar solo. Oh, it has all the requisite menace of his earlier work; the palette is just broader. “Moonlight” (the album) is out Jan. 20 via Innovative Leisure.

||| Stream: “Moonlight”

||| Live: Hanni El Khatib plays Oct. 21 at the Del Monte Speakeasy.

||| Previously: Live at the El Rey, “Penny,” live at Coachella 2013, “Family”

Photo by Nick Walker