There are artists who we say have a particular sound and then there are artists who, upon listening to their music, are so unique that there is no possible way that their music could be mistaken as being performed by anyone other than them. In the case of singer-songwriter Fred Abong , the latter case is certainly true. The Rhode Island native is near unleashing his new ‘Yellowthroat’ LP on the world – on August 23 to be exact. Seattle-based startupDisc Disc will be releasing this long-player, which was recorded together with Rob Ahlers, drummer in 50FOOTWAVE and the Kristin Hersh Trio, of which Abong is also a part.
This is Abong’s sixth album, having self-released five on his own, as well as two EPs. Abong’s music has been described as a cross between “ragged Replacements and lyric-driven Bob Dylan,” and as “Elliott Smith with balls”.
Ahead of this, Abong presents the album’s third single ‘Passenger Side’ along with a self-produced video. This follows ‘Twister’ and ‘Aurora’, which he released ahead of the UK and US legs of Abong’s recent tour with Kristin Hersh.
Fred Abong is a Filipino-American artist, whose music represents an endearing mix of indie-alternative rock and folk singer-songwriter. His work is characterized by existential and romantically focused poetic lyrics, a hypnotic, sometimes gravelly, baritone voice, off-kilter and down-tuned guitars and unconventional song structures. He has a raw and unpolished production aesthetic with an overall direct, though deceptively imaginative and oblique, presentation.
“Early on, Rob (Ahlers) and I felt that ‘Passenger Side’ was a possible single because it seemed so ‘easy’. That’s not to say that it’s a ‘simple’ song in any way… just that it has a very accessible sound and vibe, says Fred Abong.
“In any case, like the rest of ‘Yellowthroat’, it treats of the romantic journey, in particular the sense of being ‘taken for a ride’ by the relationship, but not necessarily in the pejorative sense. It’s focus is the early stages, where the trip is dark and foreboding (maybe ‘mysterious’ is a better term). The lovers as ‘a pair of possums going through the crosswalk in the night’, suggests their desire to discover one another privately, away from the gaze of humanity, and the song culminates in a recognition of both brokenness and true intimacy as well as a fragile hope that for the full blossoming of love. Plus, there’s an awesome keyboard part by Rob!
Until returning to music full-time, Abong spent nearly a decade immersed in academia, completing a Ph.D. in Humanities and working as an adjunct professor in the Religious Studies, Philosophy, and English Departments at various universities. He has also been a practicing Vedic astrologer for the past 20 plus years.
As of August 13, ‘Yellowthroat’ will be available on CD and 12-inch 160-gram black vinyl, as well as digitally across the. It can be obtained in all formats via Bandcamp.
Photo by Calum Mackintosh
Video by Fred Abong
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