Mouse Rat, the fictional Parks and Recreation band headed by Andy Dwyer, are releasing their debut album in the real world.
Titled The Awesome Album (unsurprising coming from the mind of Chris Pratt’s Andy), the album is being released to mark a special occasion indeed – the 10th anniversary of Pawnee’s beloved mini-horse Li’l Sebastian’s funeral.
And as such, the first taste from the album is the iconic single ‘5,000 Candles In The Wind (Bye Bye Li’l Sebastian)’, which was performed by the band during the mini-horse’s memorial service. Let’s just hope Elton John doesn’t come calling.
Judging by the tracklist, The Awesome Album contains all the fake hits that Mouse Rat belted out during the show’s run. ‘The Pit’, about the dastardly and dirty hole that Andy fell down and briefly lived in. ‘Sex Hair’, which is pretty self-explanatory (and the band almost sung to a group of children at a birthday party). ‘Ann Song’, dedicated to Ann Perkins.
And some special names feature as guests too. Ron Swanson’s sultry saxophone alter-ego Duke Silver appears on ‘Catch Your Dream’ and Scott Tanner, none other than Wilco’s legendary Jeff Tweedy, and his band Land Ho! help out on two songs.
The album is also a joint venture with Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari)’s 720 Entertainment. The unexpected and exciting news was revealed by Pawnee’s most literal media man, Perd Hapley.
We’re just glad the band finally settled on the name Mouse Rat, jumping between what felt like hundreds of alternative names in the show.
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It’s the second update from the world of Parks and Rec after the show came to an end in 2015. Last year, the cast reunited for a one-off special livestream amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, centred on Leslie Knope trying to keep in touch with her friends during social distancing
The Awesome Album is out 8/27 via Dualtone/Entertainment 720. and it can be pre-ordered here.
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Check out ‘5,000 Candles In The Wind (Bye Bye L’il Sebastian)’ by Mouse Rat:
