Nathan Reich – Motion Sadness

One of the joys of Bandcamp is finding artists and albums that would have otherwise passed you by via the music feed page. Nathan Reich, a songwriter and guitarist from Nashville, is one such find. Motion Sadness was recorded in one take and is, in Reich’s words, “filled with imperfections” as a result. This gives the release an organic feel, a real sense of the human behind the tales told, bringing to mind folks like Hip Hatchet and Psalmships.

You can buy the album on Reich’s Bandcamp page.

Brian Laidlaw and the Family Trade – Jeremiad b/w Glad For Every Burden

A couple of weeks back we featured a lovely record by Ben Weaver which was released by a new label run by the folks at Hymie’s Records in Minneapolis. Those good folks have also put out this 7″ by Brian Laidlaw and the Family Trade. A-side ‘Jeremiad’ is a pretty, reflective folk song with some nice strings and a rousing, romantic chorus. The record’s B-side, ‘Glad For Every Burden’ is a lot more countrified, with lyrics that hark back to a classic era of country and folk music. He sings in the chorus: “Oh honey I’m glad I’m glad for every sorrow that I’ve had, I’m glad for every burden / Without this old heart to weight me down, I’d fly away for certain.” You can get the single now via Hymie’s Records and if you haven’t got the Ben Weaver one yet then why not grab that too?

P.S. You can hear some of Laidlaw’s previous releases over at his Soundcloud page. I’d highly recommend it.

Sally Fowler – These Lines Laid Down

These Lines Laid Down is the fourth release from Virginia’s Sally Fowler. She has a fairly traditional sound, employing acoustic instruments and lyrics about sorrows and devils and crossroads, and her voice is strong and mournful and really rather great. If you like First Aid Kit or Laura Marling then it will be right up your street.

Sally started off covering songs via Youtube before progressing into her own material. You can find them on her Youtube channel.

You can buy the album on a pay-what-you-can basis via Bandcamp.

Siskiyou – ‘Deserter’

‘Deserter’ is the first single from Nervous, a brand new album from Canadian folk (?) band Siskiyou. The new album promises to be an advancement of the sparse and ghostly atmosphere of the band’s previous work, a foray into chamber pop territories recently inhabited by artists such as PJ Harvey, Nick Cave and Tindersticks. The mood and texture of the album is a product of health problems faced by lead singer Colin Huebert, who battled an inner ear condition which left him hyper-sensitive to certain volumes and frequencies. Also look out for the impressive roster of guest musicians, including Colin Stetson and Owen Pallett.

Nervous is being released on Constellation Records on the 20th of January. Pre-order it now to get a 12″ x 12″ art print of the beautiful Indian ink artwork by Michael Drebert.

Sarah Louise – Field Guide

Sarah Louise is the recording project of Sarah Henson, a young lady from North Carolina who makes music that feels as old as the Black Mountains which inspire her. “More than anything, these songs are a reflection of my home in the Black Mountains of North Carolina,” she says, “smooth-stone creek bottoms, delicate lunar-born mushrooms beneath rhododendron boughs, extreme changes in elevation.” Her new album Field Guide is coming out in the New Year on Scissor Tail Editions and it feels like a lost disc from Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music. Some of the tracks are inspired by old Appalachian hymns, while others have an almost far-Eastern meditative feel. It’s really, really good.

You can get Field Guide right now on a pay-what-you-want basis over at the Sarah Louise Bandcamp page.

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We have followed Max Holmquist’s career with some admiration, first as South of Lincoln and then Great American Desert (which we wrote about here). Holmquist is now in a band called Oquoa and they have made their album available for free. Their sound is somewhere between Water Liars and Hip Hatchet, a restrained folky rock which has darkness and grief lurking just beneath the surface. Check out ‘Cigarettes’ below.

You can download the album for free here.

A Singer of Songs – From Hello to Goodbye

Barcelona-based folkster A Singer of Songs is back with From Hello to Goodbye, another album chock full of lovely lo-fi tunes recorded in his home studio. Some tracks are delicate (‘Sand in my Shoes’), some are a little more rambunctious (such as opener ‘Another Way of Saying Hello’), and all seem to have the curious sensation of being between times, as small moments of the past are opening up in the present. Maybe it’s the use of violins, trumpets and pianos or the slightly European street music vibe on tracks like ‘I’ll Follow You’. Maybe it’s just the cartographic artwork.

A Singer of Songs is attached to the Son Canciones label, and you can buy the album now from the A Singer of Songs’ Bandcamp page.

Steve Palmer – Unblinking Sun

Steve Palmer is a “Fahey nut and guitar obsessive” who has taken lessons from American Primitivism legend Peter Lang. It is perhaps unsurprising then that Palmer makes guitar driven instrumental music that combines the finger-picking of traditional US folk with more modern sounds of drone and krautrock. The result is a collection of long, complex acoustic songs peppered with ambient and psychedelic flourishes that lend a whole jazzy improvisation feel to things.

Unblinking Sun is being released by Dying for Bad Music.

Ezkiel – A New Mask

Ezkiel is Louis Monroe from New Orleans. A New Mask is his debut release and presents four dark and cinematic folk songs which explore the themes of change and rebirth. The EP was developed almost by accident, as part of a music production class that Monroe was taking at university. Monroe himself was required to production on a singer-songwriter record, but the recording artist pulled out last minute. This forced Monroe himself to record something and A New Mask was the end result. The tracks were recorded at home and have that intimate bedroom pop vibe which I really like. Grab it now via the Ezkiel Bandcamp page.

Charlie Rayne – Wider Waters

Last but not least is Wider Waters, a brilliant album by Beirut-based Charlie Rayne. Rayne makes glorious Dylan-style folk songs which twist and turn with a remarkable lyrical flow. The focus is very much on Rayne’s passionate deliver and the stories held within, the bare bones guitars providing the perfect counterbalance. If Sweden were to stake a claim on Bob Dylan reincarnate with Kristian Mattson, then I think we have to say that Beirut now have themselves a real rival. Get it via Bandcamp.

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Paddy Neill – Widow’s Town

The debut EP from New Zealand’s Paddy Neill, Widow’s Town is a four-song blend of heartfelt folk and toe-tapping country, more suited to the Great Plains than the middle of the Pacific. You can download the EP via Neill’s Bandcamp page.

She Keeps Bees – Eight Houses

Jessica Larrabee and Andy LaPlant are back with a new She Keeps Bees album, Eight Houses. It may push the folky limits of Feet on the Ground, but the ten tracks of slow, sad music warrant inclusion. Our friend over at Slowcoustic described it as ‘gritty and fragile’ which, although rather paradoxical, is maybe the perfect way to capture the mood of this album. A glass hammer, a steel spider web, Eight Houses is no one thing, and to limit itself to fragile, or gritty or happy or sad, would be limit its ability to depict believable stories and emotions. The narrator is vulnerable, but knows everyone else is too. Eight Houses is out on Future Gods (US) and BB Island (EU) on the 16^th September.

Noah Young – Colorado

Noah Young is a folk artist from Boston. There isn’t all that much information about him on his Bandcamp, so I’ll spare you the details. What I do know is that he has recently released an EP called Colorado and I really like it. Fans of Bright Eyes or Blind Pilot will love this. Listen to the title track in the player. He also has three other releases from the past few years which are well worth checking out.

Kris Ellestad – ‘Surrender’

Next we have a brand new track from Calgary’s Kris Ellestad. ‘Surrender’ is really lovely, a sort of dreamy, ethereal folk song, backed up with Ellestad’s trademark croon. You can download the track for however much you like on the Kris Ellestad Bandcamp page. Also, in case you missed it, Ellestad released a wonderful album of covers earlier this year. Get it for nothing here.

Field Medic – P E G A S U S T H O T Z

Last but not least we have Field Medic, aka Kevin Patrick from San Francisco. He released his latest EP P E G A S U S T H O T Z back in June and it’s really good. My current favourite track is the imaginatively titled ‘i swallowed five silver dollars and was a prince painting flowers for an evening’, which sounds a little bit like Frontier Ruckus and has some pretty despondent lyrics which detail (another) break-up. Listen below and then head over to Bandcamp to buy the EP as a digital download or on cassette.

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The Meanest Creature Ever Known is Matthew Healy and Oliver Roditi from Edinburgh, and they have just put out their first album, You, Having Fun. Apparently the album is about “being alive and a bit sad.” As you might expect from that description, You, Having Fun is folky slowcore release that brings to mind quite a range of influences, from Phosphorescent to talons’

The album is available on a pay-what-you-can basis over at bandcamp.

Kississippi – I Can Feel You in My Hair Still

Kississippi is a sad girl from Phildelphia. She writes songs that are not mere catchy ditties, but instead full blown poetry. Stuff like this:

“You were swallowing god damning dogmas 
rough palmistry your hands could not align 
unsexed you borrowed callow spit, not lost 
no, looking for a space, just not mine 

redolent with skin of unknown 
unwary hands, nomadic ghost 
levied words from my spiteful throat 
understanding where my thoughts go 
you’d build a boat out of my bones.”

You can buy her album on Bandcamp for whatever you can afford.

James Junius – I’ll Hide Myself/Sleepers

Salt Lake City’s James Junius combines folk, ambient and jazz music to make atmospheric tracks “in an attempt to portray the world as he sees and the people he has met in various late night conversations out under the ferments.” Further details on Junius are few and far between, but you can download both tracks via Bandcamp.

Thad Kopec – Noble Neighbor

I stumbled across Thad Kopec’s cover of ‘Fake Empire’ a few days ago (and included it on our latest mix), and as luck would have it, he has a new(ish) album out right now. If folk music (with a touch of ambient music thrown in) complete with Biblical lyrics is your thing, Thad Kopec is probably your thing too. You can buy the album from Bandcamp, or grab it for whatever donation you can muster via Noisetrade.

Sea Wolf – Song Spell, No. 1: Cedarsmoke

The first release from Sea Wolf frontman Alex Brown Church’s Song Spell series, Cedarsmoke is a welcome reminder of how good Sea Wolf are. My listening relationship with the band is eerily similar to that of Jeremy over at HI54LOFI, and I am very much enjoying catching up with what I have been missing. There will be more Song Spell releases in between the ‘proper’ studio albums, so keep your eyes peeled and ears open for what Sea Wolf have to offer. Don’t make the same mistake we did.

Miss America By Wheary – All is Not Lost

Miss America by Wheary have been whetting our appetite over the past few weeks with singles from the EP All in Not Lost. Well you can stop dribbling and chow down on the full release. They make a brand of Americana that brings to minds acts like Jason Isbell and Water Liars, with an added experimental/ambient lilt which gives the whole thing a nice cinematic feel.

You can grab this one from Bandcamp too.

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Lou Rogai (AKA Lewis & Clarke) is set to release his first full release since 2009. Triumvariate is a double LP of grand, epic folk music that deal ’with process, and how we often create complexity from simple scenarios.‘ Help him get over the finish line by backing the project on Kickstarter before Wed 15th July (EDIT: he has reached the goal, but any more pre-orders would be welcome I’m sure). There are loads of goodies (a variety of artwork and posters, signed test-pressings etc.) to get your paws on besides the music. If that’s not enough to whet your appetite, there is also this short film directed by Kevin Haus. The album is due for release in September via La Société Expéditionnaire.

Benjamin Woods and The Golden Dregs

This suggestion comes from our good friend Jeremy over at HI54LOFI. The Golden Dregs are from Falmouth, UK, and make a lo-fi brand of rock music that is perfect for a languid summer day. You can grab the EP on a pay-what-you-can basis via Bandcamp.

The Parade Schedule – Friday Night

The Parade Schedule is the recording moniker of Seattle-based Matt Kinder. Friday Night is his (and his band’s) new album. It’s a really good folk rock record (perhaps with a little more emphasis on the “rock” than in his previous work) with Kinder’s deep and honest vocals. Fans of David Bazan and Damien Jurado need to check this out. Listen to my current favourite, the title track, in the player below. You can Friday Night over at The Parade Schedule’s bandcamp page.

P.S. If you’re not familiar with the band’s previous album, Seeds to Be Planted, Trees to Be Cut, then I recommend to remedy that fact right now.

The Rural Alberta Advantage – Terrified

The Rural Alberta Advantage have unveiled a new song, ‘Terrified,’ the first track off of their upcoming LP Mended With Gold. The album was apparently written by frontman Nils Edenloff during a stay at a remote cottage up on the Bruce Peninsula, where he slept with a pocket knife within reach for fear of bears and wolves. Fans of the Toronto-based trio will be glad to hear RAA’s distinctive sound is still intact, with their tales of hometowns and heartbreak still is as powerful as ever. The album will be released on Saddle Creek and Paper Bag Records on the 30th September.

Field Report – Wings

Christopher Portertfield’s Field Report have also released a new song. With itsambient electronics, ‘Wings’ is a slight departure from the sound of their previous album (and Porterfield’s Conrad Plymouth stuff), but his “grizzled midwestern vocals” (as Stereogum put it) are thankfully still present. The band’s new album Marigolden, which will deal with homesickness and alcoholism,is out in October on Partisan, and we will no doubt be writing more about it when we hear the rest of it.

Jerry David DeCicca – First and Last

Finally, Jerry David DeCicca, from the band The Black Swans, has released a solo LP Understanding Land. The album features guest appearances from people like Will Oldham, Kelley Deal and Spooner Oldham. Watch the video for ‘First and Last’ below, and buy Understanding Land here. He is also planning a UK tour this autumn so keep an eye on that.

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Bro. Stephen – The Shape

First up is a brand new double A-side single from Bro. Stephen. The follow up to 2012’s excellent Baptist Girls, these two tracks address the strain of long-distance friendship, transient life and uncertainty of the future. This may sound a little sad, and it is in parts, but the songs also manage to find a sense of hope, a glimmer in the storm clouds. You can buy the single right now via Crossroads of America Records.

Nate Hendricks – Neon For No One

Out on the excellent Crash Symbols, Nate Hendricks’ Neon For No One defies any clear genre. Opening track Dead Fox Waltz is a clear example of this, the sprawling ten minute epic having a little bit of everything, from experimental glitches, to folky, psychedelic guitars and even sleigh bells. The artwork is relevant for this EP, a crazy, colourful collage the holds fine details. Buy it on cassette here.

Sad Souls – ‘Rain, Window’

Ann Arbor’s ambient outfit Sad Souls released a new song back in March. ‘Rain, Window’ is a wistful instrumental track that would be perfect for, well… watching from a window as rain falls. Check out the rest of their music on Bandcamp, it is all just as lovely.

Thom Byles – Y.O.Y.O (You’re Only Young Once)

Back in April we featured English/Mexican singer-songwriter Thom Byles. Well here he is again, back with a brand new single, ‘Y.O.Y.O (You’re Only Young Once)’. The track is excellent, a gentle, airy, nostalgic little indie pop song. Perfect for these bright early-Summer mornings.  You can get the track for however much you like over at Byles’s Bandcamp page.

Johan Hedberg – Kickar grus

Johan Hedberg, who you may know from Suburban Kids with Biblical Names, is releasing a solo album Paradiset this September on Labrador Records. The first single, ‘Kickar grus’ is coming out 25th June, and you can hear it below.

Born Standing Up – S/T

Finally we have Born Standing Up from Oxford, Mississippi. Their S/T album, out March this year, is a great alt-folk/country record that sounds like The Wooden Sky covering country songs. It’s as good as it sounds. You can get the album on a pay-what-you-can basis here.

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William Thomas Lawrence – Doghouse of Yer Dreams

First we have some laid back summery vibes from New York’s William Thomas Lawrence. I can’t find much info on him, but he has just released an album called Doghouse of Yer Dreams and it’s great. You can get it via Bandcamp for just $4, so what are you waiting for?

Tyler Childers – Live on Red Barn Radio II

Tyler Childers is a 22 year old singer-songwriter from Eastern Kentucky. He makes classic, country-inflected folk songs which will appeal to fans of Joe Pug and John Moreland. His latest EP is a four song live recording on Kentucky’s Red Barn Radio programme. The EP opens with two covers, one a traditional song by Utah Phillips, and the other originally by John R. Miller. There are then two of Childers’s own tracks, one of which I have embedded for you listening pleasure below:

Eagle Lake Owls – Eagle Lake Owls

Next up is the brand new self-titled EP by Winnipeg’s Eagle Lake Owls. The band promise “folk songs about small town life, long winters and endless summers, filtered through a dusty car window”, and that’s pretty much what we get here. Their sound has a dash of Bowerbirds, a splash of John K. Samson and a sprinkling of the Rural Alberta Advantage. I like it a lot. My current favourite track is ‘Tall Grass Dance’, but it’s all really good. Check out ‘Sunday Morning’ below:

You can buy the EP via the band’s Bandcamp page

Small Sur – Wild Geese

Small Sur have released a brand new 7” single as part of this great feature courtesy of Singles Club. Singles Club run a subscription service, so you send some cash and they send four great records (from four different artists). Hit the play button and read the interview with lead man Bob Keal, complete with some really nice photography.

Also, if you’re not familiar with Small Sur, what are you doing?? Check out our review for the last album Labor, and then buy all their records.

Hiss Golden Messenger – Brother, Do You Know The Road?

This lovely slow-burner has been released by Merge Records in anticipation of Hiss Golden Messenger’s upcoming LP. The song won’t feature on the album though, as despite featuring in their live set, it is apparently something of a misfit. It’s a good thing it is seeing the light of day though, even for the refrain alone:  ‘And though the storm’s passed over/And the sun is in its place/Oh, it took a long time/And the rain, how I know it.’

Scott Orr – A Long Life

More than a little late on this one but Scott Orr released an acoustic album back in January that is gentle and mournful and lovely. Released on Other Songs Music Company, you can grab it here.

Best Wishes – Best Wishes EP

Finally, another (newer) release from Scott Orr. Best Wishes sees Orr team up with friends Eric Fusilier and Matt Henderson to produce a rocky, shoegazy collection of songs, a departure from his sparse fingerpicked solo material. Again out on Other Songs, you can buy it here.

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Mira Stolpe – K

First we have Mira Stolpe, a San Francisco-based songwriter, originally from Stockholm. The short bio on the email she sent us said that she is passionate about melodies and melancholy, and listening to her latest track, ‘K’, I’d say that sounds about right. The track is a lesson in focus and minimalism. Sometimes less really can be more. The second part of her bio said that she wants to sound “like a tropical bird in a Swedish forest”, and that’s a very nice analogy too. You can listen to ‘K’ in the player now, and check out Stolpe’s Soundcloud page to hear more.

Ancient Youth – Deer & the Moon

I don’t know much about Ancient Youth other than they are from somewhere in the USA and that they make lovely bedroom-folk music. They released Deer & the Moon a few weeks ago on their Bandcamp page. The EP contains five gentle and pretty folk songs. I promise by the end you’ll feel like the sleepy deer on the record’s cover.

Thom Byles – Lighthouse

Next up is Thom Byles, an English/Mexican artist based in Greenwich. He has recently released a brand new single entitled ‘Lighthouse’. The track is a sedate acoustic number, backed with Byles’s falsetto vocals. There are obvious influences (one most of all, which I won’t do Byles the disservice of name-dropping), but this is quality music in its own right. He also released a three-song EP, Things You’ve Done, back in January, and that’s definitely worth your time too. You can get both releases on a pay-what-you-want basis over on Byles’s Bandcamp page.

Side Saddle – The Postcard EP

Now to perk things up a little. Side Saddle (the recording moniker of New York’s Ian McGuiness) makes poppy alt-folk in the vein of artists such as Cataldo. He has recently released his debut EP, The Postcard EP and I like it very much. It’s catchy and warm and perfect for springtime.

Luke Elliot – Provisions EP

Provisions,the upcoming EP from New York-based musician Luke Elliot, combines strong song writing with gravelly vocals and an unhinged energy that has led to comparisons with Bob Dylan, Jerry Lee Lewis, Nick Cave et al. His sound provides the perfect backdrop for stories of love and loss in a dusty America, proving that the romantic ideas of Americana survive into the Information Age.

Opening track, ‘Benny’s a Bum’, was the title song for Dan and Paul Cantagallo’s film “Benny the Bum,” winner of the Best Local Film at the 2012 award at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival. Check out the trailer here.

Khingfisher – Khingfisher

Last but by no means least, we have Vancouver artist Khingfisher. We cottoned on to this solo project from Craig Alan Mechler after a tip from our friend Tyler Butler, and boy are we pleased we did. Mechler, also part of the band Hallow Moon, crafts a delicate brand of folk music which has all that you could want from such a deal. Finger-picked guitars and simple, earnest vocals lead to a stirring and intimate record. There’s even a lovely take on ‘Georgia On My Mind’ included too.

If you missed it, this month also saw the release of a bumper edition of this series’ pretty older sister, Head in the Clouds.

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Nicholas Krgovich – Who Cares?

Nicholas Krgovich, the man behind projects like Gigi, No Kids and P:ano, is back with a solo album under his own name. With little more than a guitar/ukulele and his voice, the LP is a minimal acoustic folk record. This, however, does not do justice to the multitude of styles he manages to reference/borrow from. Who Cares? is out now on Jaz Records.

M. Lockwood Porter – Chris Bell / Secrets

M. Lockwood Porter is an Oklahoma-born, San Francisco-based folk/country artist. Last year he released an album, Judah’s Gone and opened for acts such as John Moreland and Samantha Crain. Porter recently released a new double A-side 7″; one a country-tinged tribute to Big Star’s Chris Bell, the other a “Malkmus-esque” ballad. You can buy both songs on a pay-what-you-want basis over at Bandcamp.

Family and Friends – Love You Mean It

Family and Friends are a folk rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. They describe their sound as, “Equal parts indie, rock, and sincerity, sliced, diced, smothered, covered, and rooted in folk.” This is a pretty accurate description, and if you like bands such as The Head and The Heart, then I’d highly suggest checking out Family and Friends. The band recorded their debut EP, Love You Mean It, after a successful Kickstarter campaign, and you can get it right now for just $5 over at Bandcamp.

Nicole Dollanganger – Observatory Mansions

Toronto’s Nicole Dollanganger makes a haunting brand of bedroom pop that juxtaposes gently crooned vocals with weird, often extraordinarily violent lyrics. It’s a strange listen that delves into some really interesting areas, challenging the presumptions of the listener. Observatory Mansions is taken from the book of the same name by Edward Carey, a story about love set in a sad, strange setting inhabited by odd people. I can see the link.

Fronts – Kind Rays

Next up is Fronts, a singer-songwriter from the German city of Jena. ‘Kind Rays’ is a beautiful little indie folk song, perfect for the dawn of Spring. Fans of bands like Blind Pilot will love this. There is currently very little information available, but what I do know is that ‘Kind Rays’ is the first track from a forthcoming EP. I’m certainly excited to hear more.

Joe Nolan – Tornado

What is it about Edmonton and folk singers? Joe Nolan is a singer-songwriter from the Albertan capital who makes everything from Americana tinged folk-rock to delicate, melancholic slow burners. His latest album Tornado, was released back in January on Six Shooter Records. Check out ‘Pawnshop’ in the player below and then order the album here.

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Valley Maker

Valley Maker, 2010’s self-titled debut from South Carolina’s Austin Crane, passed me by. Luckily, thanks to the internet, gems don’t stay hidden for long. Various sources have pointed me towards Yes I Know I’ve Loved This World, the follow up to the S/T album, and subsequent exploration both releases has convinced me that Valley Maker deserves a much wider recognition. If you like your folk music thoughtful and packed with emotion and meaning, this is the man for you. Don’t let my waxing lyrical sway you, have a listen below and make up your own mind.

Bird Courage

Māia Manu,from Brooklyn’s folk trio Bird Courage, came into the world via a successful Kickstarter campaign. The album, a hearty collection of indie-folk songs somewhere along the lines of Hey Marseilles, is well worth your time. Also check out their cover of Stars’ ‘Your Ex-Lover is Dead’

Tyra Lennie

Beyond Misty Pines, the debut EP from singer songwriter Tyra Lennie, is a lovely little release. Lennie’s songs are gentle but pack a surprising punch, conjuring all the images of Canada’s natural beauty to convey the comforting notion of returning home.

Jenna Murphy

A slightly poppier entry here, New Jersey’s Jenna Murphy has a luscious sound. It’s hard to nail down an exact genre (there are acoutics bits but also piano and drums and so on). There aren’t many details available online but it’s an album worth your time. Although a variety of instruments are used across the album, each song is driven by the vocals, with her strong voice allowed to take centre stage. Strangers is available for just $3 on Bandcamp.

Rue Royale

Another Kickstarter success, Remedies Ahead by Rue Royale, an Anglo-American husband and wife pair based in Nottingham, is something of an attention grabber. The album explores life and relationships with a beautiful fragility, with the often sparse arrangements giving a highly personal feel that seems a result of the relationship between the members, a bond that allows an intimacy both lovely and haunting.

“You pull me like a string, you pull me right in two, you put me out to the darkness and pull me back to you,
You pull me like a string, you pull me right in two, You cause me to go blind yet I still look for you.”

Would this lyric, from the track ‘Pull Me Like a String’, have the same effect (or even have been written) without this connection?

See you in December!

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