No matter how much time passes, David Byrne is always cool. Last year, the Talking Heads leader collaborated with Mitski for “This Is A Life” for an A24 film; he also praised Rosalía saying her concert “had very innovative staging consisting of eight dancers and a video cameraperson on stage.”
Now, he teamed up with rising superstar Maggie Rogers who unveiled her latest album Surrender last year. The two were together last night when Rogers’ tour stopped by Radio City Music Hall in New York City. He joined her to perform his song “Strange Overtones.”
This follows Rogers including Byrne in her music video for Surrender single “That’s Where I Am.” About that, she told NME that she “cold-emailed him” to invite him into the music video. She continued: “We’d never met. I’m a massive fan. And ‘Strange Overtones’ was a song in the pandemic that I just deeply connected to and played over and over and over again. So he feels a part of this record in my brain because I was so connected to that song…”
She said his response was, “Yeah, I’m getting my haircut downtown tomorrow. Where? What time?… Yeah, great. I’ll ride my bike over. I think I can hang for like 20 minutes.”
Watch their performance of “Strange Overtones” above.
For more than a century, proportional time has been a constant presence in philosophical and psychological studies of thinkers such as Paul Janet and William James who have formulated the concept to explain why and how the sensation of time accelerates as we age. Days, months, and years become smaller and smaller fractions of our existences, while new experiences fade into those that came before and after. Reminiscing about the onset of the pandemic in 2020, this effect is magnified tenfold. That initial period of ‘new normal’, which sometimes appeared to bring an exciting break from mundanity, today feels like a memory lapse, a nondescript progression of events whose reality you might even be tempted to question. Like Proust’s madeleines, Kali Malone’s Does Spring Hide Its Joy serves to remind us of those times.
Recorded with Stephen O’Malley on guitar, Lucy Railton on cello, and a skeleton crew of technicians in Spring 2020 at the then empty spaces of Berlin’s Funkhaus & MONOM, the hour-long composition – presented here in three variations – feels like an echo and half-forgotten memory of those moments spent in isolation and lethargy. As on Malone’s The Sacrificial Code, the music is again a monumental, texturally and harmonically rich drone that moves in waves, maintaining a dynamic presence despite its languid pace. But where that 2019 release saw the Swedish musician and composer rely solely on pipe organs, on Does Spring Hide Its Joy she turns to sine wave generators. Tuned to her own system, the oscillators allow a wider and finer range of control, from vibrating motifs not far removed from acoustic organs to microtonal scintillations that gesture towards primordial electronic synthesis. One can imagine that both Olivier Messiaen and Iannis Xenakis would admire these expressions that sit equidistant from the organ explorations of the former and the electronic inventiveness of the latter.
While Malone’s compositional touch is what ultimately dictates the shape and flow of the pieces, Railton and O’Malley’s contributions are just as important in building their mesmerising fabric. Although they surface from disparate, experimentally tinged backgrounds – Railton’s roots are in contemporary classical, O’Malley is best known for his drone and metal work – the three musicians play with a shared musical language and ardour. Especially during the opening sequence of ‘Does Spring Hide Its Joy v1’, the reverberations of Malone’s sine waves and O’Malley’s e-bowed guitar are almost indistinguishable from one another as they forge layers of humming sound, then let them drift like blue whales in the gelid waters of the Antarctic. Meanwhile, Railton’s cello circles above them akin to a dancing spider, leaving behind trails of glistening gossamer. Each of these repeated, dynamic fluctuations on the micro level contributes to a whole that shifts so patiently as to almost appear still, reminiscent of tectonic plates moving through aeons.
This heavy meandering takes the music on a journey from plains of brighter, sustained ambient soundscapes to peaky mountains that resemble harsh noise and doom, before ultimately settling into a thrilling interplay of murmuring guitar riffs and quavering electronics. Although sonically similar and composed with the same fundamental elements, each of the remaining two takes carries a distinct impression. ‘v2’ is narrower in its oscillations, but all the more incisive, with zither-like textures and guitar screams that morph into sharp pulses and tinnitus-evoking tones. ‘v3’ radiates with a sense of melancholy and loss, and makes for a fitting final manifestation of what is another triumph for Kali Malone.
Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.
Every week, Uproxx is rounding up the best new indie music from the past seven days. This week we got new music from Weyes Blood, Phoebe Bridgers, Fred Again.., Andy Shauf, and more.
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Weyes Blood — And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow
Weyes Blood makes music for people who want to transcend. Somehow she never misses. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow is a stunning, sprawling dive into a new world. “Hearts Aglow” feels like slow-dancing on another planet; “Twin Flame” has the texture of an electrifying love. Every song soars with ambition and sincerity.
Phoebe Bridgers — “So Much Wine”
It’s the holiday season, which means we get new covers from Phoebe Bridgers that will break our hearts. “So Much Wine,” a Handsome Family cover, accomplishes this off the bat: “I had nothing to say on Christmas day / When you threw all your clothes in the snow / When you burnt your hair, and you knocked over chairs / I just tried to stay out of your way,” she sings.
Tennis — “One Night With The Valet”
In 2020, Swimmer, the latest Tennis album, was a bit overshadowed by the pandemic. But it was full of beautiful, timeless tracks like the enchanting “Need Your Love” or the mesmeric “Runner.” They just announced a new record for next year, Pollen, and previewed it with “One Night With The Valet.” It’s a breath of fresh air, swirling with beauty, atmospheric and sweet.
DIIV — “When You Sleep” (My Bloody Valentine Cover)
DIIV are paying their dues with this cover of My Bloody Valentine’s classic hit “When You Sleep,” which was performed live at Murmrr Theater in Brooklyn. Somehow they make the words decipherable, trading in heavy noise for lighter instrumentation. They bring a new sense of clarity to the song, making it their own.
Andy Shauf — “Wasted On You”
In “Wasted On You,” Andy Shauf opens the new song by asking, “What happens when they die? / Maybe eternal life.” His voice is soft and thoughtful against tame instrumentation, accompanied with a playful music video taking place in heaven in the clouds. The four-minute ballad is a reprieve, but it also has a subtle layer of darkness.
Maz — “Maybe Love”
“Maybe Love” by Maz is a skittish pop song, compelling with her ethereal, curious vocals and a sputtering rhythm. An unexpected, electrifying guitar solo halfway through jolts the listener into an even more intrigued state; at fewer than three minutes, “Maybe Love” doesn’t waste a single second.
The Wombats — “Dressed To Kill”
The Wombats are celebrating 15 years since their classic debut A Guide To Love, Loss & Desperation, which contains their timeless hit “Let’s Dance To Joy Division.” They haven’t lost any of their spark since then; their newest track “Dressed To Kill” is as ebullient and infectious as ever, determined and still dedicated to chaos: “Let’s have the best worst night / We’ve ever had in our lives,” sings bandleader Matthew Murphy.
Phantom Youth — “Stay And Run”
“Stay And Run” by Phantom Youth is a nice dose of disorientation. The song moves freely, interspersed with jittery sounds and hypnotic vocals. It makes time stop; all that exists is the boundless music.
Fred Again.., Romy — “Strong”
Fred Again.. is having a good year with the release of his new album Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022). Now, he’s teamed up with Romy for this atmospheric earworm that’s buoyed forward by an infectious rhythm and stunning vocals, putting the listener in a trance.
King Isis — “4Leaf Clover”
King Isis is an up-and-coming artist whose new song “4Leaf Clover” is enough to convince a listener of her expertise. Her vocals are sincere and compelling as she sings vulnerably against the sparse chords of an acoustic guitar; her lyrics hit the sweet spot: “What’s the rush? / You do too much / Or not enough.”
Fred Again.. is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
