This one comes directly from the dreamgaze soul-wrenching scene of San Francisco, and it is a gem! On April 3rd, revery-inspiring slowcore dreampop outfit Slowness, who hail from this northern Californian city, will release their brand new single Rose ahead of their long-awaited “Berths” LP. That one is slated for release later in June via Schoolkids Records. As for all Slowness releases, this new album was produced by Monte Vallier (Weekend, The Soft Moon, Wax Idols) and follows up their 2014 album “How to Keep from Falling off a Mountain” and 2013 album “For Those Who Wish to See the Glass Half Full” which were both well received by the fans and the media.
The band is a blow of freshness in the wider indie music streams, creating songs that are all sounding just beautiful and I must admit that the band seriously plays some breathtaking music too. Slowness runs mostly mid-tempo, sometimes fast and occasionally slow. As for this new record, it is purposefully slow, sounding like a hybrid between classic shoegaze, early dream pop and all the way up to modern dreamgaze music.
There is an explanation about Rose and the video, given by Geoffrey Scott of Slowness, “This song was originally written about a clamorous neighbor and the need to get away from the rage on the other side of the wall. You may have noticed that the couple on the album cover are the two people in the video. Those two people happen to be my parents. Last summer was their 50th anniversary and I saw the picture on their dining room table, as my mom had laid out a plethora of photos for people to see. This one struck me as poignant outside of my relationship to them and asked if I could use it for our record. So the vibe of the album cover, and the Rose video, is diametrically opposed to the content of the song and the lyrics on the whole record, which are pretty sad and dark.”
….and he adds “I thought it might be nice to have a video of the two characters on the cover to convey the irony… I asked my parents in January if they had any footage of their wedding, and my mom said no, and my dad said yes. (What does that say? HA.) So he got it digitized. They both have just seen their wedding for the first time! Everyone in the video is ecstatic, as people usually are at weddings, overjoyed, drunk…Dionysian? But what happens when the wine wears off? Five, ten, 50 years into a relationship. I suppose the song on another level is about the desire or need to flee when the going gets tough, while the album cover and video are a testament to, and in honor of, commitment.”
I’d only like to add that you should also listen to the lyrics, and save the links below which will unveil in time the single’s B-side and eventually the whole new album by that very talented and interesting band!!!
Keep Up With Slowness
Written by Mike D.
