Sometimes it comes easy. Sometimes it doesn't.
Touring into exhaustion, Astrid Swan decided to take a break. Attempting to focus on new material, the group found that real life, true responsibility was getting in the way.
So they waited. New album 'Astrid4' took some two years to complete, suffering from stop-start sessions and the birth of a new child.
But it's here – finally, gloriously. An expansive, sumptuously produced record, it matches the odd Americana flourish to baroque pop arrangements worthy of ELO.
Shamelessly pop and outrageously ambitious, Astrid Swan explains that 'Astrid4' – dig the Scott Walker / 'Scott 4' reference – owes a debt to Navaho culture.
"I don’t care for the forest. I’ve never been a nature creature really" she says. "I don’t go berry picking in August, I’m fine in the city. But a natural order began to outline itself in the concrete. There are black bears behind my closed eyes, wild deer hoofs in the night. For an unknown reason these creatures began to populate my mind even when I was awake. Suddenly Navaho Indians interested me because of their ancient knowledge of the rhythm of life. And so, in the course of taking time and making Astrid4, life and death appeared to me in the flesh."
'Astrid4' is out now, but as a quick preview for fans Clash is able to premiere new track 'Black Bear & A Hoofer'. Strutting and hugely imaginative, you can stream it below.
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