So much fun to get an inside look at the songs on Fathom Lane’s upcoming album, In The Driftless. The music is gorgeous, the songs are deep. They are celebrating the new album July 13 at the Icehouse.
Your videos are visually gorgeous and add layers of interest to already complex songs. They feel like measured peeks at full stories, especially Eye Oh Way. Can you tell me more about the process of translating the songs into video? Is there a full story from the onset or does the story build in reaction to the music?
Thank you so much, I take a lot of pride in our videos, so it’s great to hear that they are connecting with you. In the case if Eye Oh Way, the song was completed and mixed and ready to release as our next single. I went back to the original seed that started the song, an imagined a character based on people in my life. The first line of the song is, “You’re back, loaded, with a crooked smile,” and starts the story of a sort of “prodigal lover” returning to the man she left after dealing with unfinished past business. From there I imagined scenes from that journey that would suggest a mysterious, mystical, midwestern Odyssey based on the lyrics in the chorus. Each state had a unique scenario that played out: “You ditched the dirt in North Dakota to lose your mind in Minnesota. Indiana always let you down. South Dakota bloody sunsets, but Eye Oh Way is where it all gets complicated,” Along the way there are adventures of love, passion, revenge, and ultimately redemption. I wanted the viewer to be intrigued by the fuller story that we could only really hint at in a short music video. So, in the case of Eye Oh Way, the story was guided by the lyrics and this original inspiration for the song.
I see something very mystical, powerful and yet tragic about many of women in your songs and videos, such as The Queen of All Hearts, Laurelee, Eye Oh Way and even Surviving makes me feel cautious. I’m wondering if you see that too.
I definitely see that, and humbly attempt to tease out or depict the layers of complexity I see in the women I’ve known and had relationships with. There is tragedy, yes, but also hope! At the end of the Surviving video, the main character goes out in search of a part of herself that she feels she’s lost. She goes out into nature, leaving her devices and masks at home, and ultimately finds and embraces that part of herself. And at the end of the Eye Oh Way video, the prodigal lover returns home now ready to move on from the past. I hope that in some ways we capture the beautiful “bitter-sweetness” of life. I’ve always been drawn to music and art that doesn’t sugarcoat our human experience. Sad music somehow makes me feel good, which may sound strange. I always feel a bit cheated by sugary or naïve pop music, even though it can provide a temporary escape.
The album starts with a bleak look at life without the one you love (How It Begins) and ends with Tom Petty’s much more upbeat You and Me. It’s quite a journey for the listener but I’m hoping the shift in mood is intentional.
Yes, the shift in mood is very intentional, I wanted the record to say that hope can be found even in the darkest of times. At the open, the distance between the lovers in “How It Begins” seems bleak, but it also really highlights the strength and depth of the love between them. At the conclusion of the song, they are determined to “rewrite the end” of their story even though it is a leap into the unknown. And the last track “You & Me” shows two lovers acknowledging that they have no idea where they’re going to, but also that they’re happy to be on the journey together. “Wherever that wind might blow . . .“
You have a couple of cover songs on the album – how and why did you choose those songs?
I discovered “Sad Songs and Waltzes Revisited” by Mary Cutrufello at a songwriter showcase we both did a few years ago. She played the song, and halfway through it I was CONVINCED that she wrote it about me! I’ve always connected with both sad songs and waltzes deeply. So after the show I asked her if I could cover it on our upcoming record and she was thrilled. I changed a few of the lyrics here and there to make it work even better for me, and I hope she doesn’t mind I did that! On the Petty tune, that one always stood out to me for some reason. Just a beautiful little simple song that was hidden at the end of his record “The Last DJ.” I adapted it to be a duet with myself and Ashleigh Still, and it really works as two people tell each other: no matter what happened, or what’s going to happen, it’s just you and me now. It closes the record, and sends the listener on their way with a ray of hope.
Please tell us about your upcoming album release.
Gladly! We are so excited to be back at Icehouse MPLS, truly one of the finest music rooms in the Twin Cities. We’ve pulled a number of our lesser performed (but highly requested) songs for this night, and we’re going to perform our new record “In The Driftless” in it’s entirety. We’ve never done that before, played a whole album, so we’re stoked. There are several songs that will make their live debuts that night. The frosting on the cake is that we have one of our favorite bands, Turn Turn Turn, opening the night for us which is a huge honor. I really admire all of them as songwriters and musicians so it makes the show extra special.
Fathom Lane with Turn Turn Turn: “In The Driftless” Album Release Show. ICEHOUSE MPLS (2528 Nicollet Ave S Minneapolis MN 55404) Thursday July 13, 8pm doors and 9pm music. Tickets available in advance.
Mostly Minnesota 