Melding hazy psychedelia and melodic rock, Drawing Room‘s excellent single “Object Permanence” grew from an improvised rehearsal-room performance, preserving the original bass and drum take as the foundation for a song whose themes of memory and absence eventually inspired its title. The Los Angeles-based project of Graham Bockmiller, created alongside drummer and multi-instrumentalist Ben Hilzinger, craft a wholly absorbing sound here.
Snappy rhythms and a moody bass presence expand from late-night intrigue to an engrossing expanse, carried further by a haunting lead presence. The initial, fragmented-feeling “fall awake, hypnotize…” lyricism struts a suavely enjoyable quality, swelling to a more soulful emotion in the “you’re always with me, in my mind” smitten allure, further highlighted in the “object permanence, in your eyes” line. The melodic build to the “you’re always with me” sequence is particularly consuming in its second go-round, resembling later-era Talk Talk. “Object Permanence” is an utter delight from Drawing Room, shifting between moments of nocturnal sparseness and emotively resonant upticks.
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
