St. John’s, Newfoundland singer/songwriter David Picco returns with Live It For the vast majority of us waiting impatiently for Old Man Winter to depart, David Picco has today released the perfect song to get through the next few months. “Waitin’ For The Summertime” is the second single from the St. John’s, Newfoundland singer/songwriter’s latest album Live It Down — officially out Feb. 26 — and it’s accompanied by a video made from some stunning mid-20th Century home movies that’s sure to tug at the heartstrings of anyone with any connection to that period.
The haunting qualities of the song itself are indicative of Live It Down as whole, finding Picco veering away from the gritty alt-country sound of his acclaimed 2019 album Out Of The Past, and experimenting with looser, Kurt Vile-esque vibes. The change is partly a reflection of Picco’s experience during pandemic restrictions, as eight of the new album’s nine songs were written over a three-month span in 2020.
“I guess you could say that this about is about coming to terms with the fact that life never turns out as planned,” Picco says. “I would describe it as contemplative, but musically I was going after something more dream-like and ethereal.”
Live It Down is certainly a glimpse into of the new world of sonic possibilities Picco has embraced, part of an evolution that has been playing out since the mid-‘00s when he was a member of the roots rock band Jet Set Motel. From there, he became a familiar face within the Toronto roots rock scene, working closely with producer Don Kerr (Rheostatics, Ron Sexsmith) and cult hero songwriter Kyp Harness.
Following his move back to St. John’s in 2015, Picco released the album Start Again, which was warmly embraced by CBC Radio. Out Of The Past built on that success, being hailed by Americana UK as “a rock-infused country album with echoes of The Velvet Underground.”
Expect all that and more when Live It Down formally arrives, but until then immerse yourself “Waitin’ For The Summertime”‘s hypnotic groove and visuals.
