Buried Treasure, August 21
by Annie Parnell, Managing Editor
Hi y’all,
I’ve seen a lot of talk about summer’s end lately, and I’ll admit it’s odd for me to consider how quickly these past few months have flown by. It is bizarre to me that September is so close at hand!
I’ve got a rich collection of late-summer songs to share with you this week, including the idyllic indie-folk of Big Thief, the nostalgic reflections of Field Guide, and the space-age ruminations of Sug Daniels. These tracks have each cemented a place on my personal August playlist, and their nuanced meditations are perfect both for looking back on the end of summer and for moving forward into a cozy and hopefully safer fall. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do, and that you and your people are well.
Stay nourished,
Annie
“Little Things” and “Sparrow” — Big Thief
I have a deep fondness for Big Thief and the ways that Adrianne Lenker tackles the themes of love, loss, and growth with such nuance and tenderness in her lyrics. These two singles, which were released last week, are lovely examples of that unique talent. “Little Things” is a deceptively-upbeat meditation on the complexities of love.
“Sparrow,” meanwhile, is slow like molasses, dripping with rich, haunting imagery that flows between natural and biblical. I especially love the way these two songs behave in conversation with each other, and the lines “threading my heart through the needle / threading the blood through the apple.”
[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=3025443064 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]
“Tupperware” — Field Guide
Canadian folk artist Field Guide (Dylan McDonald)’s most recent single “Tupperware” came out yesterday ahead of his album release on September 17. This wistful song threads the needle between the happy and sad sides of nostalgia with ease, reveling in friendly domesticity and early adulthood.
Field Guide’s fond memories of teasing friends and treasured roommates unfold with the storytelling details of Conor Oberst and Andy Shauf, without leaving you feeling too down in the dumps. McDonald says: “it’s about my early days living in Winnipeg…the beautiful parts of life that aren’t meant to last forever, and that’s okay.”
“Space & Time” — Sug Daniels
The business of reconstructing a friendship after a breakup is notoriously delicate, and it’s part of many queer relationships — it’s not always so easy to recover from a relationship with someone who’s also an important part of your queer community. Sug Daniels’ new track “Space & Time” navigates this dynamic with the help of Bowie-influenced guitar riffs and steady earthy rhythms on mandolin and tambourine.
“Space & Time” draws a boundary, but does so with a keen amount of empathy, asking for trust and patience from the other person during their time apart. In Daniels’ words: “sometimes floating above an issue and zooming out allows you to see it more clearly.”
[bandcamp width=100% height=120 track=698394317 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]
“Buried Treasure” is your weekly guide to under-the-radar queer artists in country, Americana, and folk. Know an artist who should be included? Contact us!