Showing themselves to be wonderfully chameleonic beyond what we even saw with their latest album ‘Above the Water’, New Jersey-based collective Elk City are set to release the single ‘Tried To Move On’, released hot on the heels of ‘Strong (You’re Not Alone)’. These tracks are the tasty appetizers ahead of the main course – ‘Undertow’, the band’s seventh album, which inspired by documentaries and films on the allure of cults and extreme alternative lifestyles.
Elk City is made up of vocalist Renée LoBue, Ray Ketchem, Sean Eden (Luna), Richard Baluyut (Versus) and Chris Robertson (Psychedelic Furs side project Feed, Punch Havana). Ketchem – who is known for his work with Guided By Voices, Luna andGramercy Arms – recorded, mixed and mastered this album, which comes out via Magic Door Record Label. If these first two singles are any indication of what the album will offer, this is going to be a whopper! Stay tuned!
“’Tried to Move On’ finds the band following our pop tendencies. The song is perfect for the end of summer, while the weather is still inviting outside. Close and intimate during the verses and chorus, the song opens up in the middle with a triumphant instrumental section,” explains Ray Ketchem.
“In the production I used small, close sounds to create the rhythm track. I recorded the sound of various metal objects, such as music and microphone stands, and then manipulated the audio. The song features one of my favorite lyrics, “the hours turn into weeks, turn into years”.
Renée LoBue adds, “A boomerang of a breezy pop song that slides into your DMs to say, “Hi, you’re living in denial.” Wearing pastels and beaming. Bursting with… Joy? Anger? It’s “All Gucci” as the kids say, until the chorus barrels through, morphing into a different song that’s not on the guest list. You’re left in a whirlpool of self-created confusion. But I do like whirlpools because they remind me of jacuzzis and any correlation between our band and jacuzzis satisfies me to pieces. People put up with hunks of BS because fooling themselves is easier than walking an unknown path. Walk your unknown path. But keep your jacuzzi.”
From the album’s opening title track, ‘Undertow’ sucks you into a different kind of record with peculiar pop constructs built of rare materials, found only in the wilds behind Magic Door Recording Studio in Montclair, which legendary studio designer George Augspurger helped transform into a freeform studio where vintage microphones, modern studio gear, and bespoke sound tuning elevate and inspire.
This is where Elk City has meticulously built this record and this band a whole other way. Even after seven albums, Elk City are still deliberately hard to define, still seekers, unafraid to shed this life and lead the listener on a journey to new sounds and feelings… Welcome to Elk City.
As of August 30, ‘Tried To Move On’ will be available across fine digital outlets, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp, where the full ‘Undertow’ album (out September 22) is already available for pre-order.
CREDITS
Written and performed by Elk City
Renee LoBue – vocals
Sean Eden – guitars
Chris Robertson – guitars, backing vocals
Richard Baluyut – bass, synths, backing vocals
Ray Ketchem – drums, synths, sounds
Claudia Chopek – violin
Recorded, mixed and masted by Ray Ketchem
Produced by Ray Ketchem
Created at Magic Door Recording, Montclair, NJ
© 2023 sound is crazy music (BMI)
Single cover artwork by Renee LoBue
‘Strong’ video directed, filmed and edited by Ray Ketchem
featuring Renee LoBue, Chris Robertson and Richard Baluyut
‘Strong’ video filmed at Eagle Rock Reservation & Kip’s Castle Park, Essex County NJ
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