“The Crazing of Polymers” is the newest single from twin sisters Claire and Sarah Bowman. The two recently reunited after quarantining in two different countries for the past year. The Bowmans continued to write and record from their respective homes, building an album that is due to come out this fall. In the meantime, we are fortunate to get “The Crazing of Polymers”.
The lyrics in “The Crazing of Polymers” seem to suggest the existence of an ordinary life in which we can all relate, a life that ebbs and flows through the good and bad. The two choruses, while sounding alike, follow a timeline of a life spent together:
Chorus 1: I don’t know if it matters, how we got here anyway, I don’t think it makes a difference, if the kids played well today.
Chorus 2: I don’t know if it matters, how we fought again today I don’t think it makes a difference, how many cracks are patched up through our little earthquakes.
Claire Bowman opened up about the song title:
Crazing is a process where you take something porous and delicate and make it strong and solid (and attractive), like the way we harden from the layers of pain life dishes out daily. One of my favorite lyrics is, “there’s only so many little breaks a heart can take.” This would seem to imply that these fissures would lead to heartbreak, but instead, her response to them is to accept these as part of life, staying rooted in the good that comes along with the difficult.
The Bowman’s vocals, however, are what really tell the story. Their voices harmonize, seemingly effortlessly, and run the gamut from simple to soaring in phrasing. “The Crazing of Polymers” defies genre – The Bowman’s have created a song that is both lively in its’ tempo and aching in some of the vocals.
The sisters had toured extensively throughout the United States and internationally from 2005 – 2011. By 2013, they had released four full-length albums.
Summertime is a time to enjoy the world around you, take some time to slow down and soak up the beauty in life, and to become inspired in your creative endeavors. So, naturally, what a perfect time to release a single that addresses just those things. Singer/songwriter Anthony Savino has done just that, employing his quintessential light, carefree vocals to drive the point home. As the song progresses at a danceable clip, its lyrics envelope you in a feeling of emotional freedom, like the world is your oyster.
Explains the artist of the track:
When I first started writing “One-Track Mind,” I wasn’t sure what it was about. But I kept working on it and I played it for some people, and eventually, I realized that it was about the creative process, and to a larger extent my experiences making music. The song goes through the progresses, failures, diversions, distractions, and whatever else it takes to create something, whether it’s a song or a songwriting career.
I don’t have one process or method for songwriting, but I do have a stubbornness to just do it anyway, and that’s one of the meanings of the title. But I also think it’s about knowing when to say enough’s enough. Sometimes the creative process can be a black hole; it can take over my whole world and I lose perspective. I can spiral for a long time if I don’t step back and look at the big picture.
This week has been mighty hectic on our end. While retrograde season is still upon us we’re pretty sure you’re feeling it a bit too. Luckily, we’ve got your first listen to the beautiful, wandering new track from Grey Fields. The Chicago-based trio – composed of Alex Dzamtovski (vocals/guitar/keys), Adam Repp (bass/vocals), and John Polischuk (drums) – has created quite a bit of magic with this one. Titled “Weather the Storm,” it creates a sense of support and calm, the instrumentals ebbing and flowing like ocean waves enveloping you.
Explains the band: “‘Weather The Storm’ is a song comprised of three sections that flirts with ideas such as the hero’s journey, The Myth of Sisyphus and most importantly fortitude in the face of struggle.”
Check out the exclusive premiere below. Then give the band some love over on good ol’ Facebook.
A slow, organic build. Percussion that speaks directly to the heart and soul while light-as-a-feather vocals dance lightly along the soundscape. This is how we find ourselves introduced to the intricate selection of tracks on Brady Grey‘s new full length. The ten-track compilation – titled Three Crows – is somewhat of an adventure, made up of beautiful, easy listening tracks.
Expands Grey on the project: “It’s told from the perspective of being in a relationship that ends up being more complex than I thought it was going to be. Being a husband, a lover, and sometimes a caregiver, which is just different than what you expected.”
Perfect for an outdoor adventure or beautiful night on the patio surrounded by glistening lights, we have your first listen to the independent release in its entirety in advance of its Friday release.
Funk rock outfit Slam Band & Sam is revving up to release their latest single “Don’t Know Why” this Friday. Through a web of well-produced instrumentals and harmonizing brass, lead singer Adam Vasko’s raspy vocals explore desire in a whole new light. While Vasko and his cohorts can certainly provide quite the ambiance for a night of dancing, you must want to participate. Your emotions and your wants are paramount in how the evening goes, and no one else can provide you with what you want the way you can.
So relax, perhaps loosen up a little bit, and get your exclusive first listen to the track right now!
Sometimes fate finds us crossing paths with someone who will ultimately become our partner. Partner in love, partner in business, partner in creative endeavors… We see this fateful crossing within the music of Gawain and the Green Knight, a folk duo that is comprised of one of the most artistic engaged couples we have encountered. As Brooklyn-based Alexia Antoniou and Mike O’Malley rev up to release their forthcoming EP A Sleeping Place, the release of their new track “Fingers” gives us insight into what’s to come.
Expands Alexia:
This is one of the only songs I’ve ever written just about myself. Usually, when writing songs, I’m a little shyer. I take an emotion I’m feeling but give it to someone else to sing, so to speak- a frustrated medieval woodworker’s apprentice, a jealous French king, a determined 19th-century dressmaker.
But I was on an airplane with Mike a few years back. We hadn’t been able to get seats together. I had been reading Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles and finished it mid-flight and was just completely emotionally devastated. I wasn’t just teary-eyed, I was outright weeping- so much so that the woman next to me took one look at me and started turning up the volume on her little headrest tv. I managed to make meaningful eye contact with Mike across the aisle, and with a few gestures of the head, he agreed to meet me near the airplane toilets so I could cry some more on him. “Fingers” was inspired by that whispered conversation that came out of reading Song of Achilles. It’s a love song for my bandmate and fiancé, simple as that.
One of the first things of note – aside from the inescapably beautiful melody – is how the lyrics and instrumentation rely just as heavily on the space between the notes. We are absolutely enthralled with an artist that knows how to utilize the space between the notes as well, inspired of course by Debussy’s famous quote. (“Music is the space between the notes.”) Mike further affirmed our goosebumps by talking about just that:
As for arrangements, I picture so much of this song occurring in the void of space? Or some equally airless oblivion. So sparseness and reverb seemed the order of things – a little Rhodes piano here, a little bowed bass there. I wanted to ride the line of all-the-way-in-love and all-the-way-scared. And I wanted Alexia to sound like she was alone in the dark with a torch.
If you’ve ever experienced love at any capacity, this song is for you. Short and sweet, it is a testament to simple acts of support leading to a lifetime of love.
