The song pays tribute to Far Lands' Andy McFarlane late father and features some of the poetry that he had written.
On April 30, Portland-based band Far Lands will release their sophomore album There Be Monsters via Get Loud Recordings (pre-order). Far Lands is Andy McFarlane, producer Matt Drenik and Ivan Howard of The Rosebuds, Gayngs, Howard Ivans. Today the band is pleased to present "Oh, Molly," the final pre-release single from the forthcoming release. The song pays tribute to Far Lands' Andy McFarlane late father and features some of the poetry that he had written. McFarlane says, "They say you die the first time at the moment of your physical death and that you die a second death the final time your name is spoken. I guess by including my late father, Tom McFarlane's poem at the end of 'Oh, Molly' I was offering up a little assist in his potential immortality."
On the song Ivan Howard says:
"Have you ever had a grown man read honest heartfelt words to you, alone in a room, just the two of you with nothing but silence all around? It's a very powerful thing that'll catch you off guard if you're not ready for it. Andy caught me off guard when he read a pile he wrote and then another couple his dad wrote. I knew we had to include a reading of his dad's poem 'Sunset Fever' on the record somehow, it just needed the right world to live in. When we did the music for 'Oh, Molly' I knew we had found it a home. The guitars and music are the fever, and the words are the sunset after a brutal but somehow hopeful day. What a blast for me and Andy to make in the studio with Randal, Taylor, Paulie and the crew.
The release of "Oh Molly" follows up the album's singles "It's Time," which features Alexandra Savior and the album's title track which are available to share on all streaming platforms.
The Pacific Northwest holds a wealth of beautiful things to get excited about: neverending pine forests and coastal views surrounded by stark, snow-capped mountains, some of the world's finest coffee, and a blustering creative scene that leads many to migrate west. It took a freak ice storm in Portland to bring together the two local artists who would eventually create There Be Monsters.
"We were recording our first album (2017's Oh What An Honor, Oh What A Drag), and Matt (Drenik, producer) decided we needed some backing vocals," McFarlane recalls. "Next thing I knew, this lanky dude came bursting through the door with a giant scraper! PDX local, Ivan Howard, the "lanky dude" in question says, "I was going stir crazy because everything was shut down. The ice was taking its toll, so I used an old hoe I found in the shed of our rental house, and made my way on foot to the studio. It was only about a mile!" "I couldn't believe he showed up," Drenik says. "I was just looking for a different voice on a song, and I figured he would just do it at home."Listen here:
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