Premiere: Thin Lear Shares New Single “Bowie's Ley Lines”

Premiere: Thin Lear Shares New Single “Bowie's Ley Lines”

New EP A beach of night glory It will be released on June 7

01 May 2024

By Caleb Campbell

Photo by Shervin Lainez

Thin Lear is the project of New Jersey singer/songwriter Matt Longo. Longo debuted in 2020 with his first full-length LP, Wooden Cave, creating a rich sound that resembled the instrumentals of chamber pop and confessional '70s singer/songwriters like Harry Nilsson. Last month, Longo announced news of his upcoming EP, A beach of night glory, is expected to be released on June 7. Along with the announcement, he also shared the album's lead single, “The Overnighter,” and today he's back with another new track, “Bowie's Ley Lines,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Bowie's Ley Lines” finds Longo tracing his musical origins, drawing on his memories of the revered iconoclast singer. Where “Overnighter” was shadowy, hushed and stark, “Bowie's Ley Lines” is leaner and more driving, colored by humming guitar lines and a steady, drumming beat. Longo's vocals depend on the yearning and nostalgic tones of the track, floating above the murky instrumentals. The track finds Longo harmonizing in multi-track bliss as he reminisces about teenage escapism to a David Bowie soundtrack. Meanwhile, the accompanying video captures the dreamlike late-night feel of Longo's memory, with surreal visuals and animated accents.

Longo says of the track, “This tune chronicles a night of teenage euphoria at the beach: sliding in a shabby car on the sand with Wonderful on the tape deck in my barely used '93 Infiniti, completely untouched by the burdens with friends by my side and making it home before I ended up feeling alone again. The song wonders about the value of those beautiful memories so many years removed, and whether those experiences create an artificial idea of ​​how to find joy later in life. Over time, I wonder if these wonderful memories have any value beyond distraction: “How good is this memory that tears me from my day/On a beach of night glory/With tapes Great.'

Developing that arrangement on Spacebomb with Matthew E. White and that crew was a pretty organic process. We kept fleshing it out from an initially folky vibe and then we gave it this rhythm section… Alan Parker (guitarist) started adding these Tom Verlaine-like guitar parts towards the end. I also really like harmonizing myself when it fits a song, and this was exactly what it was calling for. Anything to add to that cavernous sound.”

He continues, saying of the video, “The accompanying video chronicles an increasingly surreal and psychedelic journey through the woods, complete with animated statues and vivid displays. I worked with visual artist Paula Arranz to overlay animation on footage with a homemade feel (shot and edited by my partner, Emely Grisanty) and from there, we shaped a narrative of a descent (and then ascent) of an intense journey into the night to reflect an altered state of consciousness. We wanted it to be fun and psychedelic, but also speak to the attachment to the nostalgic feast that the song refers to.”

Check out the song and video below. The A beach of night glory ER released on June 7th.