On February 19, 2021, Portland-based indie rock band Corvair will release their self-titled, debut album on Paper Walls in the US and WIAIWYA in the UK (pre-order). Today the husband / wife duo Brian Naubert and Heather Larimer are pleased to present the the official video for “Sailor Down,” the second single to be lifted from the from their forthcoming release. The video, which was directed, shot, and edited entirely by Covair’s Brian Naubert along the Oregon Coast, premiered today at Analogue and can also be shared at YouTube. On the song Analogue says, “Sailor Down,” a driving track that allows the duo’s extensive experience to make it all sound so easy. Sonic touchpoints can be found in Land of Talk or Deep Sea Diver, but the guitar work and vocal harmonies separate Corvair in their own lane.” “Sailor Down” will available on all streaming platforms and Bandcamp this Friday.
About “Sailor Down” Corvair’s Heather Larimer says:
“Sailor Down” is a he said/she said turbulent relationship story. It contains male/female voices and two guitars (acoustic and electric) each telling their own competing version of things. The song was built around a nylon-string acoustic guitar track, which is an odd choice as the “lead” instrument. Many of the lyrics were inspired by the deadly intersection of the Pacific Ocean and Columbia River, just off a place called Cape Disappointment. The dangerous waters seemed like a good metaphor for the risk that people take in love, knowing that the odds are probably against them. The song, like all of Corvair’s debut album, was mostly recorded in the band’s home studio during the COVID shutdown last spring. The video for “Sailor Down” was directed, filmed and edited by Brian Naubert of Corvair, shot along the Oregon Coast over three windy days in mid November. The band spent most of the shoot shivering and Heather threw all her clothes in a dumpster at the end because they were destroyed by the water scenes.
Last month the band released “Sunday Runner,” the first single from their self-titled album. The video can be shared at YouTube and the single is available on Spotify to add to your favorite playlists. Brian Naubert and Heather Larimer are both seasoned musicians, having performed in bands such as Eux Autres, Ruston Mire and The Service Providers. Naubert and Larimer’s decades of separate music making have finally combined, culminating in this tour de force from two formidable songwriters. Corvair sounds like nothing you’ve ever heard and everything you’ve always loved. The duo’s debut album charts a starcrossed love story over three decades, five cities, and six continents. Spanning from atmospheric pop to jangly confessional, 70s AM to 90s FM, this work is laden with stunning lyrics and prodigious melodies, two voices leaping to meet in the ether. The album was largely created during the COVID pandemic shutdown of Spring 2020. It includes work with drummer Eric Eagle (Jesse Sykes, Wayne Horvitz) and engineer Martin Feveyear (Brandi Carlile, Mark Lanegan, Mudhoney), who also mixed the record.
Larimer explains, “Being stuck in a house together with very little outside influence made us more emotionally raw, definitely weirder, and also more patient and intricate in developing the songs. And because we were in a bubble, cooking dinners from paranoidly-disinfected groceries and listening to old records, really disparate references from some of our favorite music ended up colliding in odd ways–an emotional Judas Priest bridge, an anthemic Pixies outro, a spacey keyboard sound from Steve Miller, Jeff Lynne’s acoustic guitar tone, a Carpenters-style lush harmony. I think it’s a wonderfully weird record, but also very in-your-face pop because what else are you going to do when the world feels like it’s ending?”
Separately, Naubert and Larimer have created or appeared on more than 20 records. Heather’s musical mainstay was the garage pop band Eux Autres, broadly hailed as a “veritable cult classic” band, radio-debuted by the legendary John Peel, and featured in many shows, movies and commercials. Brian is a longtime fixture of the Northwest rock community, having played in vital bands such as Tube Top, Pop Sickle, and the critically-lauded Ruston Mire since 1993. More recently, Brian released his first solo record, Hoffabus and a record with the Pacific NW Supergroup, The Service Providers.
