Stray Fossa released a new single through Nice Guys, titled How Come? This is their first single of 2021, and their fourth single since releasing their Laridae EP in 2019. Stray Fossa will be releasing a ten-track full-length in April, their first LP since they began releasing music in 2018. Expect a music video for How Come? later this week.
How Come? has layers of chorus-heavy guitars, a really tight and focused bass sound, and up-close drums that are individually mic’d. For the vocals, Will Evans layered several takes, mixing in chorus which gives it a really smooth sound, placed down in the music. Acoustic guitar adds texture, and synths come in and out of the song, filling in spaces. An organ comes in at one point, but instead of using it as filler, its melody acts as a really nice bridge. And that fat snare? Incredible. The production on How Come? is on point, produced by Will Evans.
This really is a phenomenal song. I’m thoroughly impressed by the sonic quality, and the selectiveness of the production. Every layer is explicitly and intentionally shaped and placed so they sound distinct, yet serve the purpose of the song as a whole. They took great care in the recording process, and they edited/mixed this song with perfection.
Nick Evans wrote the pensive lyrics:
“How come
Stray Fossa – How Come? (SoundCloud)
At our best we’re still wrong?
And the second you called
Had me thinking, how come
Getting lost in someone
You don’t see when they’re gone?”
A personal album…
Stray Fossa responded to the first half of 2020 by recording this full-length in their attic studio. They describe these songs as “personal,” and came from conversations the band had in their living room while coping with the Pandemic.
The band shared this about the album:
“The songs do not so much play into the zeitgeist as accompany it – weaved in and out of the record are themes of social isolation, anxiety and dissolution; inter-independence; restlessness; nostalgia; and collective memory, the last of which, given the band’s lifetime of friendship, has long underlined their writing process.”
Stray Fossa was formed when two brothers, Nick and Will Evans started writing songs together with their friend, Zach Blount, when they were teenagers. They came back together in 2018 as Stay Fossa, built a studio in the attic of their home, in Charlottesville, Virginia. They have been releasing music since. How Come? is the first time they’ve released music through a label.
Listen to How Come? on BandCamp, Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube, and elsewhere.
Stray Fossa links:
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