New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Warp Records) Having written some of the most critically-acclaimed songs of the last several years as part of
Grizzly Bear and Department of Eagles, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter
Daniel Rossen is sharing a brand new collection of wholly personal songs on his debut solo release Silent Hour/Golden Mile. It is an output from a musician you know, yet reveals the core you might not know he had.
Listen to first teaser "Saint Nothing" taken from the EP here: http://youtu.be/wMG2jbvCr0Y
"Saint Nothing," the plaintive, piano-based heartbreaker...We cannot emphasize the word "plaintive" enough — there's simply no way to teach someone to communicate sadness the way Rossen can." -SPIN
Rossen recorded almost all of Silent Hour / Golden Mile himself in rehearsal rooms and small spaces across New York City. From the sighing strings and surging drums of opener "Up on High" to the tessellated guitars and resplendent one-man choir of "Return to Form," Rossen served largely as both imaginer and enactor. He did, however, enlist the help of Scott Hirsch's lap steel and horn arrangements from Ian Davis and Kris Nolte; the closing track's propulsive drums come courtesy of Dr. Dog's Eric Slick. Lifted by brass, the lulling piano lament of "Saint Nothing" is built largely from Rossen's first take of the song. That methodology offered a stark break with Grizzly Bear's more meticulous and piecemeal approach to songcraft.
"Whenever possible, I like just keeping the very first impression of an idea, the first take of something. You very rarely get to do that because the recording quality is below standard," says Rossen. "It's very liberating to just leave it."
Upon first sitting down to write these songs, Rossen had thought they might simply be demos for a new
Grizzly Bear album or themes he'd soon forget. But late in 2011, these tunes started to feel for Rossen like a unified declaration—about unease with the world around you, about indeterminacy in your own life, and the ability somehow to navigate both. These five songs cut stiffly against compromise, delivering sometimes uneasy thoughts redeemed by strong-willed rock settings.
"When you spend so much time touring around, you can lose perspective on what you're trying to do. All the sudden, I had no idea what to do or what to make or anything," explains Rossen."These songs were a way for me to figure that out again, getting my legs back."
Fittingly, the EP's title comes lifted from its closing track, "Golden Mile," a gem that eases its lyrical despair with walloping rhythms and gnawing guitars. "For a silent hour, for a golden mile," sings Rossen, pulling immediately from past difficulties to the infinite and unknowable future. "There's bliss in this mess. There's madness all around."
Tracklisting
01. Up On High
02. Silent Song
03. Return To Form
04. Saint Nothing
05. Golden Mile
Nicolas Vernhes mixed Silent Hour/ Golden Mile at New York's Rare Book Room and it will be released on CD, vinyl and digitally on March 20. Bio credit: Grayson Currin.
