Craig Wedren Shares Single 'Pronouns' From New Album 'The Dream Dreaming'
The track is the latest single from his upcoming album The Dream Dreaming, out tomorrow, January 26th.
By: Michael Major Jan. 25, 2024
Acclaimed musician and film / tv composer Craig Wedren shares new single “Pronouns” along with the Mary Wigmore-directed video for the song.
The track is the latest single from his upcoming album The Dream Dreaming, out tomorrow, January 26th via his own Tough Lover Records (pre-order / pre-save HERE). The main synth riff and beat of “Pronouns” had been marinating on Wedren's computer for a while, originally developed as an instrumental part of his score to Amy Redford's movie What Comes Around.
The track's accompanying video features Wedren and a number of the powerful women in and around his life including his wife, Meggan Lennon, actresses Natalie Morales and Gabby Lane, violinist Allie Stamler and album visual collaborator Tracy Hof. Listen and watch “Pronouns” here: https://youtu.be/GygDLB12h-k.
On the creation of the song, Wedren notes: A few years ago Mary (who directed the video) and her husband sent me a phone recording of their daughter singing something she'd made up that went “chillin' like a womaaaan…” which was brilliant, and I knew it needed to be in there somewhere. Everything else just flowed.
Lyrically, I just let myself free associate on the “like a woman” motif without thinking too hard or worrying too much about message or meaning. Honestly, I think we're a bit obsessed with those things these days, it can be a drag – so LITERAL and boring IMO. Anyhoo, I shut the judge up in their chamber and let the song be whatever it wanted, then lo! Out popped “Pronouns.”
To celebrate the album release, Wedren will host an The Dream Dreaming Instagram Live Record Listening Party tonight, January 25th at 5pm PT /8 pm ET where friends are expected to drop in as he plays and discusses the new music. Tune in at: www.instagram.com/craigwedren.
Whimsy with an endearing dollop of weird: this has been Wedren's raison d'etre since his days as the frontman for Shudder To Think – the accurately described “fanciful chimera” of the Dischord Records roster alongside the comparatively straightforward post-hardcore sounds of Fugazi and Jawbox. In the time since Shudder To Think's final 1997 studio album, Wedren has recorded solo and with the band BABY, crafted ambient choral music under the Sabbath Sessions moniker, and become a go-to name in the worlds of film and TV scoring, with credits ranging from School of Rock, Wet Hot American Summer and Laurel Canyon to Showtime's recent hit Yellowjackets.
He also scored ALOK, the documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last week on the phenomenal poet / stand up comedian / trans rights activist Alok Vaid Menon, directed by Alex Hedison and executive produced by Jodie Foster.
The Dream Dreaming is the next step of his sonic evolution, while still maintaining the whimsy and weird that makes Craig such a vital and unique voice. The Dream Dreaming began life as what the operatic-voiced musician envisioned as a series of COVID-era singles but eventually grew into a full-length project, created without borders. “These songs didn't have to sound like a four-piece rock band or be strictly electronic,” he adds. “As the bigger picture started making itself clear, I realized, it's eclectic and sonically whimsical, and that's a great thing.”
The new album can be enjoyed as both the perfect musical uncoupling and reconciliation of Wedren's many muses: from D.C. punk, heavy alternative, ‘80s and ‘90s pop, dance music, and soundtracks. These disparate versions of Wedren equally inform The Dream Dreaming, which is further elevated by the presence of two new collaborators: strings player Paul Cartwright (Lana Del Rey/Olivia Rodrigo), whose stunning arrangements can be heard on nearly all of the album's 11 songs, and drummer Isaac Carpenter (Awolnation).
Wedren's longtime scoring partner Anna Waronker (that dog.) also lends her vocals to the bittersweet duet “All Made Up,” which he started writing while visiting his ailing father in Miami shortly before his early 2020 passing. The Dream Dreaming is also Wedren's first album since he had a major, out-of-the-blue heart attack in 2018 (“I needed to have some fun after having five stents jammed into my chest,” he says).
The Dream Dreaming is available tomorrow, January 26th on all streaming platforms.
Photo credit: Peter Barreras
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