Har Mar Superstar returns with a delicious vintage R&B sound

Sean Tillmann — stage name Har Mar Superstar — is a polarizing artist. You either totally adore him or seriously can’t stand him.

Those in the former camp love him for his bawdy, over-the-top persona. Har Mar Superstar is entirely comfortable performing in front of hundreds of people while wearing only a sparkly thong, with his hairy back and protruding gut on display for all to balk at.

On the other hand, Tillmann’s sweaty, sexy, undeniably catchy pop alienates listeners too high-minded to enjoy someone they view as a one-dimensional pop clown.

Whatever else he might be, Tillmann has always been a talented songwriter. His latest album, Bye Bye 17, is more proof of that, but it also brings some new game to the table. It’s a swaggering, heavy-hitting set of vintage-diamond soul, exploding with propulsive horns and introducing a little old-school class to the Har Mar Superstar outfit.

Ahead of Saturday’s Riot Room gig, Tillmann answered The Pitch‘s call at his home in Brooklyn.

The Pitch: You just had a day named after you. September 20 is now Har Mar Superstar Day in Minneapolis. How did you celebrate?

Tillmann: It was kind of nuts, actually. I celebrated by playing a crazy show at First Avenue, and it was sold out. It was really fun — my whole family was there — but I didn’t have much time to chill out with anyone. We flew in that day for the show and were gone the next day.

Bummer. So, you’re in your second year of doing this podcast called Nocturnal Emotions, where you interview famous personalities about their most embarrassing moments. What made you pick that topic?

That was just sort of something to go off of, like a conversation starter. It makes everyone be like, “Oh, well, let me tell you about this one time …” and then they start telling stories and then it gets fun. But you know, I don’t even really do that anymore. The podcast is really just about having fun talking. It’s just a way to open a conversation with someone.

You seem like someone who would be impossible to embarrass.

I don’t really have any shame. I don’t know … that’s one of those things I can’t even answer. If I went on my show, I wouldn’t be able to talk about it, you know? I’ve been in some crazy situations. Every weird situation that is possible to have happened has happened to me. I don’t think there’s anything crazy left. Nothing can really get to me like that.

Do you give a fuck about the part where people are calling Bye Bye 17 your “best work”?

It’s cool. It’s kind of vindicating, but at the same time, it’s kind of annoying because that means that the last 13 years are kind of looked back on with this like, “Oh, wow, he’s actually good,” when in reality the songs I’ve been writing … they’ve actually been as good as any song on any other R&B album all along. The fact that [for Bye Bye 17] I put on a suit and people can show [the album to] their grandma. … This record makes them respect me, but also, it’s like, I don’t care. I don’t care about people’s opinions. It’s like slave trading in some ways, this whole cult of approval. It’s so wishy-washy, and none of it matters. It feels good, I guess, but when it calls into question 17 years of work you’ve done, that sucks, because I’ve been doing great work all along.

Bye Bye 17 is your first album in four years, since 2009’s Dark Touches. Why the long stretch of time between releases?

I think at this point you don’t really need an album every three or four or five years. If you put out albums too frequently, it seems like throwaway garbage to people — and oftentimes it is throwaway garbage. So I’d rather focus on one really solid album at a time. I write for movies and TV shows and shit and I make money other ways so that I don’t have to inundate people with my feelings all the time.

Your live performances have always been delightfully raunchy — striptease-worthy spectacles. Are you doing away with the stage antics?

Yeah, I mean, I don’t get down to my underwear anymore because people started to expect it. I just don’t do that because people will focus on that too much instead of the music, and that ruins the song. I don’t really feel like it’s necessary anymore. I’m not compromising or holding back anything. I’m just adding to it. I don’t know. I think my audiences get what I’m doing now, and the people who don’t just don’t show up.