Mimicking Birds -- the Portland, OR-based group of songwriter Nate Lacy (guitar/vocals), Aaron Hanson (drums), and Adam Trachsel (bass, synth) -- today shared "Belongings," the third single off their forthcoming album Layers Of Us out January 26th (Glacial Pace Recordings). Lacy describes the new single as "a love song conveyed through the perspective that we are all here functioning as part of a larger entity. And that we are only borrowing the ingredients required to briefly witness this remarkable circumstance. Self-detachment through self-awareness. With such a consciousness comes an urgent responsibility to thoroughly appreciate life's unlikelihood, love one another, and to do what is right for the planet and future existence." Listen here: (LINK). The band also recently announced they'll support Typhoon on a winter tour beginning January 10th at Salt Lake City's Urban Lounge. See below for full itinerary.
"Belongings" follows the album's second single "Another Time," a meditation on human-caused climate change and environmental protection which premiered via The FADER last month. The first single, "Sunlight Daze," was featured on NPR's Heavy Rotation playlist in November and described by Stephen Thompson as "another stunner, as Lacy unleashes a spaced-out missive about getting lost in the cosmos" (NPR Music). Mimicking Birds recently recorded a stripped down version of "Sunlight Daze" with BreakThru Radio, where Hanson used a barbecue grill for percussion: watch here. Layers of Us --produced by Jeremy Sherrer (Modest Mouse, The Shins) at Ice Cream Party studio in Portland, OR -- is the follow-up to their second full-length Eons, which was named one of NPR Music's Best Records of 2014 and saw the band making their late night TV debut on Last Call with Carson Daly, and more.
If their self-titled 2010 debut co-produced by Isaac Brock and Clay Jones established Mimicking Birds as one the most promising new acts from the Pacific Northwest, with
Pitchfork praising Lacy as "extremely gifted with cyclical melodies" and "riveting," then
Layers of Us represents the maturity that comes with extensive touring while continuing to expand their musical palette as a three-piece band. These days, Lacy is focusing his gaze further outward, exploring what he calls "the infinite and the infinitesimal," while also keeping lyrical watch on the crossroads where our digital future and our pastoral past bump up against each other. Dream-like, immersive, and awash in texture, Layers of Us explores daunting topics like life, death, and eternity with a gentle touch. How this comes out through Lacy is in toothsome lyrics that are filled to bursting with imagery, philosophical questions, and deep personal concerns. Layers of Us also features Isaac Brock on the track "Island Shore."
"We started adding modular synths for Eons -- then with access to a variety of gear at Ice Cream Party, it helped to evolve the layers of sounds in the album," says Adam Trachsel of the album's scope. Reflecting on the production, Sherrer explains, "Eons was cut live to tape for the most part, and most of the experimentation was sample based; feeding bits of audio from the sessions (or samples Nate or I had collected) into an MPC or Octatrack sampler to loop/chop/pitch sequence and blend into the mix. The keys were mostly organic instruments like piano, electric piano and mellotron. These instruments and a fair amount of sampling also appear on Layers Of Us, but on this one the band was keen to expand our experimentation into the world of analog synthesis. They had recently acquired two Prophets (new and old) and a Korg MS20. Those coupled with my Eurorack modular system, Omnichord, a borrowed Juno 106, and Nate's collection of old Casio keyboards gave us all the colors we needed to help realize the band's vision for this collection of songs."
Pre-order the album here: (LINK).
Mimicking Birds Tour Dates:
01/10 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge *
01/11 - Grand Junction, CO - Barons
01/12 - Denver, CO - Gothic Theatre *
01/14 - Omaha, NE - Waiting Room *
01/15 - Kansas City, MO - Riot Room
01/17 - Saint Paul, MN - Turf Club *
01/18 - Madison, WI - Majestic Theatre *
01/19 - Chicago, IL - Metro *
01/20 - Detroit, MI - El Club *
01/25 - Portland, OR - OMSI LOU Listening and Release Event
02/08 - Phoenix, AZ - The Crescent Ballroom *
02/10 - San Diego, CA - Music Box *
02/11 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom *
02/13 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent *
* With Typhoon
