Hey all,

Casey here.

So many of you have been in our comments and DMs, asking for this song. It feels TERRIBLE keeping it from everyone, but our press people would kill us if we shared it before launch. In fact, if they knew we were doing THIS they’d probably be pissed.

Not to mention that this version of the song has one of our first bigger-name artists, Ariel Posen, collaborating on it.

Ariel is a helluva a player, and, after a video of one of his solos went viral on YouTube (a video titled, Possibly the best guitar solo I’ve heard in 12 years of owning a music venue! Keep Watching!) he became somewhat of a guitar hero, pushing the limits of what people can do with a slide.

He’s playing an all-metal-bodied guitar on Lonesome & Mad that sounds uniquely grimey and chunky. Much like the music venue owner who posted his solo, in my 10 years recording folks, these were some of the best waveforms I’ve ever dropped into a project.

So. It’s super important that you don’t share this.

ABOUT THE SONG

We’ll tell you a lot more about this song when launch rolls around, but I wanted to talk a little bit about what it means to us a bit here. This song started casually, as most good songs do, in a song-a-day sprint we were doing to test the waters on TikTok. It actually didn’t do too hot on there, but found its audience on Facebook and Instagram, where you might have even discovered us.

This song is very much at the heart of the album we’ll be releasing, Homesick For Another World. It’s almost a tone poem about wishing things were different, wishing there was less suffering, wishing people didn’t have to die (something that has popped up in UTR music since Pale King).

It also reminds me of my mom, who died some years ago. Cardinals kind of remind me of my mom. It also happens to be a great introduction to this album because it references almost EVERY single other song on Homesick in its lyrics (you’ll see).

ABOUT THE VIDEO

After we sent out 10,000 free CDs across the world, we found ourselves pretty heavily in debt. We had high hopes for making this album launch polished and good. It was our hope that we could make music videos that made people feel. Without a budget—and being sounds people with bad eyes—we didn’t have much in the way of resources to put into this video.

We figured we’d lean into it.

We made a post, asking for folks to help us solve getting our hands on a harlequin-patterned backdrop for the press photos (sometimes I have gut feelings that might just actually be neuroses, and I was SURE we needed a harlequin backdrop). When our video plans fell through, we thought, hell, what if we just film this one in the house, indie style.

We invited some friends over, tried a few things—one involved shiny speedos and body paint…stay tuned for launch for that utter failure—and ended up with the video above. I only had ONE shot I was sure of (gut feeling), and that was shittily pulling the camera away at the end and revealing out little mobile home and friends.

It felt important to me, because, if we couldn’t make something polished and grand, I wanted to show everyone who we really are. How janky this duct-tape-and-paperclip band really is. How silly and awkward and humble this project is, behind the curtain.

I think it worked.

I feel this tension when I watch the video. 

It feels like some dudes doing their best. As a choreographed, backdrop music video, well, it’s weak. But that’s not what we’re here for—and, ostensibly not what you’re here for. If I have any inkling at all of why people have gravitated towards this band so quickly this past year, it’s because we started letting ourselves be human in front of you…and inviting you to be human back.

I love that about what we’re doing, and I hope you do too.

I hope it never changes.

Anyways, comment your thoughts below. I can’t wait to share the whole album with you all…