Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Kevin Cole, host of Drive Time on KEXP, is "Phil" by 52 Hertz Whale, from the 2022 album Present Sense Impression on Full Moon Forum.
Today's Song of the Day comes to us from Bratislava, Slovakia-based band 52 Hertz Whale, but pays tribute to the Northwest's own Phil Elverum. The band say they found inspiration for the song from Elverum's project The Microphones and his 2002 singles compilation Song Islands.
In a press statement, bassist Fabo recalls, "‘Phil” was put together during the pandemic months of 2020. ‘Phil’ and the rest of [their latest album] Present Sense Impression were created in the solitude of the Czech woods with the help of Prosecco, in cracked version of Ableton, and in a rehearsal space filled with smoke. Through cliched teeth, chaos, drive, as well as reluctance,we’ve arrived at a fuse of the good and the bad." Drummer Tomáš adds, "'Phil' is one of the two new tracks that don’t feature a classic chorus, much like our older stuff."
The track is accompanied by a video directed/filmed/edited by Palo Hedmeg, and featuring dancer Katarína Vyskočová performing at a water plant near Bratislava. Watch below.
