Will Schube will love Lump forever
Over the summer, a cat wandered into the home I share with my friends. She stayed for long enough to get some water and fed. She disappeared for a long time and eventually came back, and this process continued enough for us to give her a name, Lump. She’s been gone for months (our last glimpse of her was in December, as she was standing next to a homeless man who was taking a pee) but she’ll likely return. She reminds me of Kyle Fields, also known as “Little Wings.” His releases are spread amongst many labels, his art spans many mediums (his paintings are mightily imaginative and playful). There’s not a lot of organization to his method, but he seems to be one of those musicians who creates simply because he has to. He may disappear for a while, but he’ll return with an interesting story to tell. His latest sabbatical is no different.
Field apparently made a record in 2013 titled Last, but there’s not much evidence of its existence. The bulk of his catalog found a home on K Records, the wonderful northwest label which released Wonderue and Light Green Leaves (both in 2002, and my two favorite records of his). Releases prior to the mysterious Last were on a label called Rad Records, so it’s extremely heartening to see his newest record, the forthcoming Explains, find a home with Woodsist. The two are a nice fit, as Little Wings satisfies that equation all Woodsist bands do of: Folk multiplied by X = a Woodsist release. His variable is more intangible than the “freak” Woods bring to the Woodsist name, but there’s a certain morose quirk to his music that fits perfectly within their aesthetic.
“By Now” is the first single from the forthcoming album. World-weary and winking, Field works through wordless alliterations before reaching a pre-chorus of
“I know I know you probably think I should have told you everything and explained every thought that I was thinking . . . today, this morning, this evening.”
The section is a mouthful, but Field brings comic relief with a lovely chorus of, “And if the tune gets too familiar we split our pants / Nuts out refusing to dance.” Each of these parts are sung over heart-wrenchingly strummed acoustic guitar. The sadness is deep, but deep in its vagueness–Field’s favorite game is to confuse the emotions. “By Now” doesn’t tell you how to feel, only that you should. And I do.
