LOVECOMMISSION is still a fairly new creation, but there’s news on the horizon for the no-nonsense music project that started just last year. New York’s Pat Scarlett has chosen to continue to keep a low profile in order to let the music do all the talking, but the big news is that he has chosen to drop the alias LOVECOMMISSION completely. Instead, he will be going by his own name, and releasing his new track under that name. We’ve got the exclusive premiere.
The track is called “4th Of July,” and it’s coming at us just in time for the holiday. This song embodies America in a unique way, with a classic hard hitting strum of the electric guitar and solid drum line to keep things moving. The vocals are mellow and relaxed, much like what having a day off feels like.
Says Scarlett of the track:
When I wrote 4th of July I was going through a pretty intense time in my life – a relationship was imploding and I had recently dropped everything to work on the record. And as it happens, things were coming to a head around the 4th of July of last year – which is, I guess, why the lyrics for this song came out the way they did. But listening to the song once you realize that, beyond the “feels like the 4th of July” refrain, the song has nothing to do with the holiday, country, whatever… I think the refrain is more of a description of a state of blissful serenity that exists – lingering somewhere beneath the chaos of existence – but which we often only experience when that chaos becomes particularly intense & we’re kind of forced to really let go. We’re usually so wrapped up in our own bullshit that we don’t get to that kind of place – but when you do…feels like the 4th of July…
This track is the perfect soundtrack for the summer. In honor of the holiday, Scarlett curated a little playlist exclusively for Impose.
Odes to Exquisite Moments
Songs that have always hit me the most are those that really, lyrically and melodically seem to involve or portray a total immersion in the unbearable exquisiteness of being. Often this involves some sort of love-defined relationship, but songs that chronicle those ‘what the fuck am I doing here’ moments can be equally powerful. Anyway, here’s a few that stick with me.
- Fade Into You – Mazzy Star // One of my favorite songs – period. From the first time I heard this song it really floored me, and that rarely happens. Just that soft, distant, smoky voice coupled with the wafting melody, those spacey, reverby guitar motifs. Nuff said. This one speaks for itself.
- Lisa Says – The Velvet Underground // I like how Lou Reed goes back to that woman-in-trouble theme a few times in the early music. This isn’t my favorite VU song, but somehow it came to mind when I was thinking of this playlist. Those simple, almost juvenile lyrics – “Lisa says that it’s alright / When she meets me at midnight” followed later by “Lisa says that every time she makes it straight / she knows her heart will break” – work well to paint a very powerful picture of this character, her tragic, untethered state of being…her lust for something beyond herself.
- Tuesday’s Gone – Lynyrd Skynyrd // A Good Ol’ Boy take on heartbreak. I have to admit a grudging admiration for these Alabamians. I remember hearing a demo copy of ‘Freebird’ as a kid, and that sort of propelling me through the Skynyrd catalogue. Anyway, for me, this song is all about the intro. It is unexpectedly momentous, then softened as those Southern guitars drawl their way into the mix. Lyrically uninteresting, but still, kind of dig listening to this once in a while.
- At Last – Etta James // Fuck.
- Son of a Preacher Man – Dusty Springfield // Ok., on the surface, this one kind of goes against the theme here. It’s a little too light to chronicle the ‘unbearable exquisiteness of being.’ But for me, it’s all about Dusty’s voice. Dusty could sing about going for ice cream and I would hear heaven, hell and all spaces between in that singular, bluesy croon. That Rhodes intro, 60s soul vibe – I can listen to this one over and over again.
Upcoming News
I’m just putting the final touches on a record I’ll be releasing sometime this summer. For the time being we’ve put out a teaser single & video. The single “You Make It Alright” kind of goes with the theme of this playlist – Odes to Exquisite Moments – as something of a ruminating confession of affection couched in a shoegazy mix of droning synths & floating, amped out guitars.
Both can be accessed via lovecommission.com
