“An album which spans almost a hundred years to link two experiences of displacement in the wake of natural disasters,” was how we described Moonlight Hotel, the forthcoming record by Shannon Fowler’s Tom Lark in a preview back in February. “That of Shannon’s family after the 1929 earthquake in the pioneer town of Murchison on the South Island, and his own in 2011 following the earthquakes which struck Ōtautahi.” First single ‘Rock & Roll Baby’ tapped into the volatility inherent within such experiences with a surprisingly relaxed tone, using a laidback brand of psych folk to take on the rollercoaster ride that is life.
With the release of Moonlight Hotel fast approaching, Tom Lark has shared brand new track, ‘Fuselage’. Again occupying fertile psych folk territory, the track is no less assured yet nevertheless decidely moodier than its predecessor. Where ‘Rock & Roll Baby’ possessed a loose-limbed confidence, ‘Fuselage’ is all shadowy attitude and brooding edge, a stylistic change which heralds a different reaction to the volatile conditions. Here the carefree spirit falters, change suddenly something dangerous and daunting. With the realisation comes a certain sense of resistance, that inner self-preservation which tells us to retreat to the familiar and refuse to recognise reality as is now exists. But accompanying this desire is a secondary emotion, one which comes to inform the tone of the track. A sense of frustration at this hesitancy and stasis. A desire to kick through the defensive barriers we create around ourselves in order to regain a sense of forward motion.
Watch the video, directed by Sam Kristofski, below:
Moonlight Hotel is out on the 4th April and you can pre-order it now.