California-based artist Jake Cassman compels with a mystique-filled cohesion of folk and rock on recent single “Trying To Mourn A Friend Of Mine.” “The track comes via Cassman’s upcoming album Idling High, out on 11/14; it’s an excellent showcase of Cassman’s songwriting, and we’ll be running an in-depth feature of the album on its day of release).
The album itself is abundant in themes of personal growth and self-reflection, and “Trying To Mourn A Friend Of Mine” shows an introspective prowess in illustrating battles with oneself, over a struggle with parts of themselves they don’t like. Showing inspiration from Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen, the track excels with a darkly comic and unsettling feeling.
The lyrical mourning fo a “friend” plays like a mirror of self-destructive impulses — with biting paradoxes (“I hold his hand as he holds on… / I still have to kill him dead”) present as a mysterious rumination on hating, mourning, and trying to excise the worst parts of oneself. It represents one of many highlights on the forthcoming Idling High.
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
