Today, Slowness debut their new video ‘Sand & Stone’ a swirling icy cold cut that details post-break up isolation and pulls you out of the darkness. Directed by Oliver Ousterhout the video intercuts images of the band in various animal masks, as they walk accross the beach, the tide and natural beauty surround. ‘Sand & Stone’ is lifted from their new album Berths which came out last month, on vinyl and digitally via Schoolkids Records.
Geoffrey Scott talks about the song “We had the whole of “Sand & Stone” recorded for months with no lyrics. I thought I’d get away for a long weekend and isolate myself so I could get some writing done. Through an old friend, I found a cabin in Half Moon Bay, CA. It was late May, cold and foggy. Jules and I had broken up about three months prior and I hadn’t yet begun to process it. Instead of the solitude I was hoping for, I went into a dark and lonely place. Thankfully, I had cell reception so I began reaching out everywhere. I even called Jules and we talked extensively about what we were both going through. After a few days, I still couldn’t write, so I called my friend Dom P, from the band Like Herding Cats, in New York. I told him what I was going through and how I felt paralyzed, both emotionally and creatively. He encouraged me to go out to the beach and write about the environment I was in, combined with what I was going through. So that’s what I did, and “in the end,” Dom’s advice proved incredibly helpful, because it not only gave me the lyrics to the song, but it helped me begin to see the light. The sun actually broke through the fog while I was in the midst of writing, and it all came very quickly.
A sad man’s roam beholden
Prays atones then sins
Preach to the beach
Endure the shore
Cry some more can’t swim
The sand and stone’s old hymn
Saved his bones in the end
The sun will shine
despite your maligned
“The sun shall never shine again”
Ultimately, the song is about being able to recognize that while you might be going through a difficult time, the planet keeps revolving. The sun will come up, and there will be light all around you despite any maligned notions that tell you otherwise.”
Comment about the video by Julie Lynn: “One of our rotating bass players, Greg Dubrow, introduced us to his friend Oliver Ousterhout was interested in making a film for Sand and Stone. Once he saw the astonishing natural beauty of the cove that inspired the lyrics, he had a concept unfold of filming us moving through the environment backward–but played as if we were in forward motion–so that we could seemingly be surrounded by an ocean in retreat, and by footsteps that left no trace. We loved the idea and the passion he threw into pre-production. Our day working with him on-site was cold and magical, and a dreamlike experience itself! We spent a lot of time walking backwards in the sand, soaked and cold, and trying to pull off something that was far more challenging than expected. Perhaps it remained an absolute pleasure throughout because the very process of trying to move with grace kept us very closely connected to the theme of the song! Walking itself became denaturalized, and there was an ever present fear of losing balance, not being able to keep a steady direction, or being hit by waves we couldn’t see coming but knew were inevitable. But every step made it easier, and by the end of the day, it started to feel okay, even natural, to walk in this different, awkward way, and we could start to gaze outward towards the sea or the mountains as we strode instead of focusing on fear and discomfort.”
As with all previous releases, the Berths LP was produced by Monte Vallier (Weekend, The Soft Moon, Wax Idols). Side A was engineered by Dave Voigt (Luna, John Cale, Yo La Tengo, Alex Chilton) at his Beyond Notes studio in Brooklyn. Side B was done with Vallier at Ruminator Audio in San Francisco.
This long-play follows up their 2014 album How to Keep from Falling off a Mountain and 2013 album For Those Who Wish to See the Glass Half Full.
