Earlier this year, Glasgow-based outfit Constant Follower unveiled the double single, Turn Around For Me / See You Soon. It was released in anticipation of a new full-length album from Stephen McAll and co. and the first glimpse of a new stage for the band. Titled The Smile You Send Out Returns To You, the new album was co-produced and mixed in Austin, Texas by Dan Duszynski (Loma, Brian Eno), and sees Constant Follower push their folk sound further than ever towards indie rock sensibilities. ‘Turn Around For Me’ possesses “a spaciousness […] taken from the landscape in which it was recorded,” as we described, while ‘See You Soon‘ channelled the likes of The National in its tender, melancholic grace. The Constant Follower spirit which made releases like Neither Is, Nor Ever Was so special is still very much intact, but the sound is growing around it.
With the album set for release in February 2025 via Last Night From Glasgow, the band have returned with brand new track, ‘Whole Be’. “It’s about exploring the paradox of seeking ‘wholeness’ while acknowledging our inherent imperfections,” as McAll describes. “It resonates with the idea that our efforts to achieve completeness are what define us at a basic level, even if the end goal remains elusive.” Fingerpicked guitar evokes a searching emotional resonance, the track in many ways subdued but possessing a definite sense of power. Some charge in the vocals and harmonies lifting the otherwise grounded folk style towards something almost ethereal.
As ever with Constant Follower, the music is accompanied by a strong visual element too, from Heather Nevay’s artwork to the video directed by and starring Peter Lilly, Code Word Zebra. “I think the video offers a poignant narrative in reverse,” McAll explains:
It shows a man cycling through a sequence of events that undo a potential future of despair. It ends at the beginning, staring straight into the eyes of the protagonist as he experiences a powerful moment of clarity, symbolising the realisation of the fork in the road that he’s on. It’s a story of reversing the path to catastrophe and finding hope in such moments of clarity.
The Smile You Send Out Returns To You is coming soon.