New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Southern Ocean' is the glorious new single from New York duo The Forms, out June 21. The first release in a decade from the Queens based band, the track was recorded by Steve Albini, who has recorded both of The Forms' albums to date: their Pitchfork lauded debut 'Icarus' and their critically acclaimed, self-titled sophomore album. The last taste of new music from the group prior to 'Southern Ocean' was the 'Derealization' EP, that featured The National's Matt Berninger on vocals, as well as Shudder To Think's
Craig Wedren. Over the course of these releases, The Forms were invited to share the stage with an incredible collection of artists including St. Vincent, Nick Cave, The National, Dizzee Rascal, The Hold Steady, Kurt Vile, Jose Gonzales, Deerhunter and Bat For Lashes.
These impressive co-signs are no coincidence, the meticulously crafted leftfield pop that The Forms create is at once both infectious and intriguing. The complexity of the music is indicative of a duo whose work ethic is both perfectionist and tireless; the vocals to 'Southern Ocean's' B-side Metadance were recorded 1000 times before Alex Tween and Matt Walsh were happy with it; "Things take a while for us because we fight more than the Gallagher Brothers" Tween explains.
This extraordinary attention to detail not only largely explains the time since the pair last released music but is immediately obvious throughout The Forms' output. Unflinching musical experimentalism is stretched to the brink of pop immediacy, resulting in hands in the air anthems rendered with crisp, hyper-realistic precision.
It might have taken ten years but 'Southern Ocean' was worth the wait. The first hint of what is to come from The Forms' upcoming third album, it serendipitously arrives just as
National Geographic cartographers announce that the swift current circling Antarctica is worthy of their own name: the Southern Ocean. To celebrate this, the single arrives with a visualizer made up of a series of stunning shots of the ocean and will also be available on vinyl, via Open Ocean.
