The single follows 'No Lightning Fix,' both of which appear on the band's upcoming third full length album Tethers, out March 26.
Minor Moon--the Chicago-based cosmic Americana group led by multi-instrumentalist Sam Cantor--have shared "Under An Ocean Of Holes" today after premiering the song exclusively with Paste Magazine. The single follows "No Lightning Fix," both of which appear on the band's upcoming third full length album Tethers, out March 26 via Ruination Record Co. & Whatever's Clever.
Paste describes "Under An Ocean of Holes" as "warm Americana with an otherwordly hum... sprawling and complexly arranged, the song rises and falls like its eponymous body of water." The track's supporting cast includes V.V. Lightbody on vocals and flute, Ohmme's Macie Stewart on violin, Nora Barton on cello, Nick Broste on trombone, and Alex Blomarz on sax. Inspired by "the profound disorientation that accompanies heartbreak," the narrator describes a descent into a mythical, existential abyss. In a statement made to Paste, Cantor says: "On this song, 'Under an Ocean of Holes,' I was trying to dive deeper into the experience of a separation with a partner that was defined by confusion and a sense of being lost. A lot of ideas, emotions and attachments that had come to define a large part of my life were getting reordered or vanishing altogether. That thick fog made it hard to think, speak or write about anything directly. Transforming the narrative into a big, grandiose metaphor, 'an ocean of holes,' a frightening descent into some magical deep-down unknown realm, seemed more accurate to me than any lucid, mundane account of things. Writing this way helped open the door to the rest of the songs on 'Tethers.'"Minor Moon's Sam Cantor writes resonant journeys into songs. Across three albums culminating in Tethers (out March 26, 2021), the Chicago-based musician and sideman in Half Gringa has mined the pastoral and rollicking sounds of cosmic country for contemplative and thrilling songwriting. The core musicians who backed him on 2019's An Opening return-drummer Nathan Bojko, bassist Michael Downing and keyboardist Colin Drozdoff, with the addition of lap steel guitarist Konstantine Stebliy - but here, the band is more locked in than ever, conjuring up engaging Neil Young grooves, eye-opening atmospherics, and a healthy amount of Midwestern twang.
Tethers came out of a period of upheaval for Cantor, a time where he had to confront uncomfortable personal realities. Following the disorienting dissolution of a long-term relationship, he sought help from regular therapy sessions and the wisdom of close friends and family, and slowly gained some clarity and steady footing. This process led to Cantor constructing a psychedelic and knotty sci-fi world in his lyrics in order to write about what he was going through with more freedom and imagination. "Minor Moon songs have always had this arc of discovery and I've always used them as a way to dive into really personal, philosophical, or emotional problems," says Cantor. "It's about finding some truth looking inward."Listen here:
Photo Credit: V.V. Lightbody
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