“A shapeshifting entity […] as likely to entice the listener in with hazy dreamscapes as it is blast them with intense noise, willing to present sensual and detached sensibilities side by side.” That’s how we described Chelsea Bridge, the the recording project of Chicago-based violinist and songwriter Mallory Linehan, back in July. With new album K on the horizon via Whited Sepulchre, Linehan has been releasing a number of singles, with ‘The Morning’ introducing the album’s willingness to embrace both pop and avant garde styles, and ‘FOMO’ the distinctive personality of the Chelsea Bridge sound. Where playfulness meets a certain sensuousness, and ornate soundscapes build in dreamlike layers.
Described as “an ode to falling in love and getting stoned under the dome light of a used car from the early 2000s,” new single ‘Car Song’ invites the audience further into the world of K. A bittersweet evocation of that strange weight which lies inherent within even the simplest of moments, as though every experience is charged with meaning for those attentive or unfortunate enough to pay notice. Again a sense of juxtaposition is clear—the warm interior of the car and the stark Chicago night separated only by the fogged windshield—as is the intimacy of Linehan’s delivery. It’s the sound of an artist well-versed in immediacy thanks to a career of improvisation merely applying the same logic to a different aspect of songwriting. A willingness to lean into whatever emotion feels natural, however revealing, sentimental or conflicted that might be.
K is out on the 23rd August via on Whited Sepulchre Records and you can pre-order it now.
