SAGE FRANCIS and B. DOLAN have finally caved to years of fan pressure to form an official super duo: EPIC BEARD MEN. Details on the debut album, "This Was Supposed To Be Fun", available here.

“Come to the Sand Dunes” US Tour ticket links available here.

The super-duo embraced the absurd name as a reminder to themselves that, while they tackle a lot of difficult subject matter in their solo work, this group’s mission boils down to one thing: “This is supposed to be fun, for fuck’s sake.” And so, This Was Supposed to Be Fun, the debut LP (and second official offering) from EBM was conceived - and is finally here. This album knocks. It parties with disreputable outlaws in truck stops. It blends the classic sounds of breakbeats and timeless drum machines with soul grooves and sub bass. Guitars, violins, and a goddamn brass band have sat in before the party's over.

Throughout 50 minutes of intricately produced rap music, the duo of storied rapper/poets wander freely and set fires like the latchkey kids they once were. This Was Supposed to Be Fun, but that doesn't mean either emcee has shied away from their signature blend of the personal and political; topics range from the absurd to the unshakably true. EBM are two rap greybeards who aren't afraid to swing freely from dead-serious to wryly hilarious.

Hailing from the industrial outskirts of Providence, Rhode Island, both artists are walking hip-hop vaults who fiddle with esoteric knowledge over hypnotic, sprawling sample compositions. For well over a decade, no matter how many tours they survived or solo releases they dropped — more than 20 between the two, depending how you count ‘em — the members of this dream team and their DIY Econoline ethic endured a certain outsider status in the rap world. Last year’s debut EP, Season 1, poked fun at that label, while still delivering a sublime buckshot blast of political commentary, interpersonal dispatches, and healthy introspection. Now the joke isn’t so funny anymore.

Except, of course, when it is: Slug of Atmosphere joins the gang in some NC-17 fun, as Sage and B. are soulfully backed by Blue Raspberry (Wu-Tang Clan) on the road-noir tale "Pistol Dave". Eligh of Living Legends and South African newcomer Yugen Blakrok contribute blistering verses, while tourmate and New Orleans Bounce legend Vockah Redu contributes a brilliant supporting turn.

Epic Beard Men rap and produce like keepers of the flame. TWSTBF is filled with sharp, satirical, bombastic edutainment, writ large in neon bubble letters for all the world to fuck off to. It plays like a dark Buddy Comedy gone spectacularly sideways: the mighty Epic Beard Men are back in the barber chair, fuckin’ up your market share. You can’t tell them shit. The chill is gone. The chill was never here.

This Was Supposed To Be Fun drops on all streaming services on March 29, 2019. Physical versions of the album (Colored Vinyl LP, CD, Cassette) can be pre-ordered now at StrangeFamous.com, and will be available in stores everywhere on May 17, 2019 EBM are on the road throughout 2019, starting in the US in April on the Come To The Sand Dunes Tour.