SUMMERHEAD is a band that exists in spite of itself. Coalescing almost by accident and featuring three members separated by thousands of miles, it has little in common with traditional musical groups in many respects. Born from a nearly forgotten batch of collaborative instrumentals recorded by Mike Iannatto and Nicholas Fit, the band took shape after vocalist Grey Gordon expressed an interest in singing on the tracks. In short order, the material was fleshed out, completed, and released for public consumption. Today, we’re stoked to give you their new music video for the song “Tiny Screens” (directed by Luke LeCount, with camera work from Latif Myrick, starring Francesca Padillas) and pre-orders for their new album, available at this location and here, courtesy of Really Rad Records.
Due in part to the members’ years of experience in projects both similar to and on complete opposite ends of the spectrum as Summerhead, the band’s music shares the group’s overall amorphous quality. Pulling equally from Spacemen 3 and Portishead; As much influenced by Duster as they are Sneaker Pimps, the result is a distinctly post-modern sound that escapes easy categorization. The songs are evocative, atmospheric affairs with a pop nucleus that seamlessly weaves each disparate elements together into a cohesive whole. Whether you call it dream pop, shoegaze, slowcore, or something else entirely is beside the point.
” “Tiny Screens” is a reflection on the difficulty of a breakup when a child is involved.” – says vocalist Grey Gordon. “Two adults growing apart is unfortunate, but they have a framework of understanding to contextualize those feelings. A young kid doesn’t. They have no way of understanding why someone that was so important to them is no longer in their life. At the time I wrote this song, I was dealing with that experience for the first time, and it was really weighing on me. Not only was I suddenly separated from someone I had come to see as my own kid, but she was left without someone she had come to see as a father.”
“This song is an attempt to grapple with those feelings and come to grips with the knowledge that I would only ever be able to watch her grow up through images on a phone.”
There are certainly sonic throughlines on this record that may or may not be obvious, depending on your tastes. “We’re all musical anglophiles, specifically when it comes to the 80s and 90s, and I think it comes through.” – admits Grey.
“Our sound is equal parts 4AD and Creation records, with a healthy dose of trip-hop thrown in. That nebulous period before shoegaze and its many offshoots became codified is a good reference point for what we’re trying to do. Curve, pre-Loveless My Bloody Valentine, and Lush are all here, but there’s also plenty of Spiritualized, Duster, and Massive Attack. On the same token, we’re not trying to retread old ground. The overall goal is a natural synthesis of many sounds that shaped our tastes, and I’m happy to say I believe we achieved that. ”
Lyrics:
Met you when you were only three
You were the best thing that ever happened to me
Things have changed and it seems obscene
I’ve gotta watch you grow up through this tiny screenThere are things in this world that can never be replaced
There’s a type of hurt that time cannot eraseI’m incessantly thinking of your face
Your smile, your laugh, and all the brilliant things you’d say
Now there’s a distance I can’t breach
She built up a wall around you and pulled you out of reachThere are things in this world that can never be replaced
There’s a type of hurt that time cannot eraseEverything falls apart each day
When I wake up and realize you’re still endless worlds away
I wish I could hold you one more time
Kiss your head and remind you that my love will never die
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