"fuck the sun, fuck the stars, fuck the moon, fuck the multi-verse..."
The thing about love, real love is that it puts you life on a thin edge. One of caring so much that it gives you stomach aches. A life of worrying that the one you love is ok, is safe, is happy. If you find that someone to love and you bring children into the world, the edge only becomes sharper and cuts even deeper. I thought about that when listening to the moving sonic expose that is "Fuck LA" by Illiterate Light, the artful, often intriguing duo of singer, guitarist Jeff Gorman and drummer Jake Cochran release with a wonderful official video and from their latest nine track album "Sunburned".
As much as I hate to do the cut and paste thing, it is important to do so because of the intimate realities of "Fuck LA" and why it became what it is can only be expressed by those closest to it:
[Speaking on the inspiration for “Fuck LA,” Gorman recalls, ““Fuck LA” has nothing to do with Los Angeles. It’s the hollow ache that sneaks up on you while you are grinding away, traveling, living apart from the people that matter. No matter how much you love what you are doing, it’s the feeling of overload that quietly turns into, “man, fuck everything.””
He continues, “This was a demo that I wrote while exhausted in 2019 after many months of touring. It’s a homesick song. It features a voicemail my wife left me. She was working her ass off as a schoolteacher - 14 hour days, while I was on the road grinding it out. It’s about wanting to be home. It’s also a subtle middle finger to Atlantic Records, and taking pride in where you’re from. ‘Fuck LA’ is nice to listen to when really stoned.”]
The song built on a stoic drum beat, a musical framework that feels like a mind wandering, those personal voicemail recordings and Jeff Gorman's plaintive vocal countenance while strumming that piece of wood pulls you into a deeply somber and thoughful place. The sort of alt country / honky tonk / experimental folk atmospheres are also highly cinematic... sounds pulsate like memories, vacant piano tones, fading slight feedback of sorts like veiled radio transmissions create a sense of time, a lot of time invested into love, art with all the pain that surrounds those two things.
It wasn't until repeated listens, a lot of them that I realized that the lyrics, the POV is from Jeff's wife but though his voice. Sometimes I am slow that way. Well, I am going to wipe my tears away and go hug my wife now.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://soundcloud.com/illiteratelight
https://www.facebook.com/illiteratelighthttps://open.spotify.com/artist/1vEqG4Bxz3YIMuDkIcvg6J
https://www.instagram.com/illiteratelight/
https://mobile.twitter.com/illiteratelight
ILLITERATE LIGHT Illiterate Light has been stretching boundaries and upending expectations with a captivating blend of soaring indie rock, swirling psychedelia, and atmospheric folk that calls to mind everything from Neil Young and My Morning Jacket to Fleet Foxes and Band of Horses. Gorman plays guitar with his hands and synth bass with his feet, while his musical partner, Jake Cochran, plays a standup drum kit, which captures the scintillating energy that’s fueled their journey. Hailed as “a perfect addition to your summertime playlist” by NPR, the band honed in on their distinctive sound and identity over years of relentless touring, earning dates along the way with the likes of Shakey Graves, Rayland Baxter, Mt. Joy, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Futurebirds, and The Head and The Heart in addition to high-profile festival slots at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Newport Folk, and more.
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