Stone Mover

Another demo for our album that is in production. Sung by my friend and drummer Neil who has recently found his voice. A song of regret and the often crushing weight of unconditional love.

The Sea and Cake was a clear aesthetic touch point for much of this song. When we first started the improvisation that became this song I asked Neil what this song was called and he said "Stone Mover". He clearly was living the lyrics of this song at that time, doing landscaping on his family plot of land, and I find his words paint a melancholy watercolor landscape.

The finished version will have real drums that skip along, a more maintained groove, and a "less is more" approach to the arrangement.

(Get Flash to see the track player.)
posted by dobie (4 comments total)

You know how sometimes there's one feature that really makes a song? Here it was the (apparently incomplete) percussion. I don't think I would have enjoyed this song nearly as much if there was your typical loud kit banging away. I think you could definitely clean it up (and maybe make it a bit more present), but I really like that it's so understated.

Great tune! Make sure your drummer keeps that voice he found.
posted by danb at 8:35 PM on July 3, 2008

Thanks danb. He's a f'ing incredible drummer so I'm pretty confident that the drums will sound awesome. I agree that it is all about the groove.
posted by dobie at 10:33 PM on July 3, 2008

Wow, I really like this song. I really like everything about this. It reminds me a lot of this band , and that's a good thing. I also like how the only percussion clearly audible to me is the snare with brushes. It actually sounds like a drum machine, and that's a really good thing as well. Or wait, since you say the finished version will have real drums, is that a drum machine? Anyway, nice job and tell your drummer he's got a great voice.
posted by sleepy pete at 7:47 AM on July 5, 2008

This is terrific. Really. It breathes in a satisfying, wistful way, and the two vocal parts weave nicely. I also like the minimal guitar line at the end of the song where each note is attacked percussively.

More please.
posted by umbú at 7:54 AM on July 5, 2008