Tom Gallo is the host of Look At My Records! on Radio Free Brooklyn.
Bushwick Daily is excited to premiere “Transient Love,” the first single from Brooklyn-based musician and performance artist Holly Overton’s forthcoming concept album, The Woman On The Beach. Scheduled for release later this year, The Woman On The Beach is Overton’s first release since her 2017 album, Every New Day.
For her next endeavor, Overton crafted a multi-disciplinary piece that follows an autobiographical narrative. She describes The Woman On The Beach as centered on “the relationship of physical surroundings vs unconscious space” and how both can “occupy the same plane, but can be completely different.” Drawing on her experiences growing up on the barrier islands of North Carolina, Overton explains that her natural surroundings shaped the way she comprehends human experiences:
[The way I] understand and equate human experience is through the nature of the ocean and seaside landscape, even if just in my thoughts while walking through Bushwick. However, it is not a nostalgic longing to return, but rather, a festering seed that yearns.
“Transient Love” is a snippet of her own story, and while it’s the album’s first single, the track is really an excerpt of the larger narrative Overton shares on The Woman On The Beach. The album is split into three parts: “Part 1,” “Part 2” and the ultimate “The Grand Finale,” with “Transient Love” falling within the album’s early stages.
Overton describes “Transient Love” as a chapter that translates her experience falling in love in a remote beach community in Brazil prior to relocating back to Brooklyn. She remembers it as her “first ever feeling of maternal desire or family instincts on an isolated tropical beach, which I had to weigh against my motivated yet struggling artist career in Brooklyn.”
Recorded and produced by Overton and Brian Cherchiglia, “Transient Love” continues to showcase Overton’s mastery of classical piano and her arranging strengths, as in addition to piano, the song features a soothing interplay of synths and acoustic guitar. With the piano as the track’s main focus, Overton weaves seamlessly across the keys throughout the song’s four-minute runtime, before devolving into a tumultuous haze of distortion and chaos. This abrupt ending leaves the listener wondering what’s next in The Woman On The Beach story? It’s an intriguing track that’ll leave you longing to get a better understanding of the bigger narrative it serves.
Stream the infectious track below:
Overton is hitting the road later this month with Joe Wakeman of Toyzanne, where she’ll be performing The Woman On The Beach in its entirety. Her live performance incorporates several disciplines with a vivid visual aspect that includes set design, costumes, and performance art, so don’t miss this immersive experience in the coming weeks:
May 24 – Richmond, VA at Space Litter Records
May 25 – Athens, GA at Go Bar
May 27 – Memphis, TN at The Lamplighter with Crystal Shine and Yazan
May 28 – Murray, KY at Terrapin Station Records
May 29 – Cincinnati, OH at The Hub with JV Golf and The Mimics
May 30 – Louisville, KY at Careless Lounge with Danica Ransom
May 31- Asheville, NC with Loved Ones
June 1 – Kill Devil Hills, NC at Bonzer Shack with Cor De Lux
June 2 – Baltimore, MD at Flower Plant Live w/ people of Think Tank Noise
June 8 – Kingston, NY at Tubby’s
Holly’s next Bushwick gig is on Thursday, June 13 at Rubulad.
The weather is crummy, so take some shelter in the confines of these Bushwick venues this week:
Wednesday, May 15
Boyscott, Blaketheman1000, Quaker Parents, Softee at Alphaville, 8 p.m.
You may have missed the debut album Goosebumps from Nashville’s Boyscott back when it was first released in 2015, but if you’re a fan of the surf-y high-guitar tones of bands like Beach Fossils or early Real Estate, then you’ll want to pick up a copy of the just reissued cassette version of the album on Citrus City Records.
Boyscott will be joined by their friend and former Nashville-ite, Blaketheman1000. Blake Ortiz-Goldberg is now based in Brooklyn and crafts intimate lo-fi pop songs with themes that are both lovelorn and at times tongue-in-cheek. Take for example his latest single, “Greta Van Fleet,” where Ortiz-Goldberg proudly describes himself as Greta Van Fleet, but for fans of Lou Reed.” Quaker Parents, a Toronto-based lo-fi project with more acoustic leanings, are also performing, along with Softee.
Thursday, May 16
Grim Streaker, Cold Fronts, Big Bliss, Flexi at Alphaville, 8 p.m.
Goth-punks Grim Streaker are releasing their long awaited debut full-length, No Vision, on Thursday night at Alphaville. If you’ve had the chance to check out the album’s first three singles, “A.D.D.,” “Sensitive Demon,” and “Today New York,” you know the five-piece continues to dish out fuzzy, high-intensity punk gems that encapsulate their out of control live performances.
Philadelphia’s Cold Fronts will be joining in on the celebration for their first show since January along with Big Bliss, who are currently hard at work on the follow up to their stunning debut album, At Middle Distance. Flexi will get the festivities going in the opening slot.
Friday, May 17
Washer, Blessed, Snakeskin, Knot at The Footlight, 8 p.m.
Local indie punks Washer wrapped up 2018 with a highly praised split 7” EP with another standout Brooklyn group, Bethlehem Steel. The EP featured an original song from each band and a cover version of a track from the other band’s catalog, including Washer’s rousing rendition of Bethlehem Steel’s “One Giant Fuck Machine.”
Drop by The Footlight on Saturday to see if they work that extraordinary cover into their set. You’ll also be treated to a performance from British Columbia-based experimental post-punk group Blessed, who are passing through New York as part of a massive North American tour in support of their debut full-length album, Salt.
Snakeskin, who just released an incredible cover of Kate Bush’s Cloudbusting with an accompanying music video is also on the bill. Fans of the defunct Boston lo-fi band Krill will be delighted to learn that some former members have reformed as Knot and will open Friday night’s show.
Saturday, May 18
Verdigrls, Den-Mate, Anna Altman at Trans-Pecos, 8 p.m.
Brooklyn electro-pop trio Verdigrls latest EP, Small Moves, drops this Friday on Substitute Sister Records. The record features the already released singles, “Daylight Savings,” and the title track, “Small Moves,” which are two pristinely hypnotic slices of perfect dream pop. Although the record is out on Friday, Saturday night at Trans-Pecos will serve as the band’s official EP release show with performances from the vibrant Washington D.C.-based singer-songwriter Den-Mate and local slowcore duo, Anna Altman.
All images courtesy of bands and mentioned venues.
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