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Trying

by AA Matheson

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justin spicer
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justin spicer On Trying, the dual meaning of the word is slowly, carefully unspooled by Aaron Matheson’s wavering voice and meticulously strummed guitar. Matheson sings of trying times while trying to rise to the intimacy of the occasion. The effect is spiritually eerie and uplifting. When Matheson’s voice quivers to the point of nearly breaking, it evokes the same emotional timbre of Phil Elverum’s confessionals. Favorite track: I'll Be Gone So Long.
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1.
Canyon 07:51
Did we learn to fall away Did it echo when we called in to the canyon Did it use our voices then To say go be alone Did we learn to fall away Did the sand under our feet always dissolve And leave us floating in the dark Listening to tea trees creaking
2.
Nice Things 05:31
My memories are fading out Will the nice things that I cared for Return to the darkness Will I witness my own life Or is the paper of a melaleuca Too rough for writing on But at least there was A golden light Over the town of Beverley But there were wild dogs on the wind So I will grow and then be quiet I am gone in time I am gone in time
3.
When I walk alone you don't wonder where I've been I walk to the rivers and I say goodbye to them I walk in the valleys and I say goodbye to them Because I'll be gone so long And when I close my eyes and think about the end When I'm gone there'll still be native poppies by the creek And when I'm gone there'll still be gang-gangs in the eucalypts I'll still have been in love
4.
Finally 11:08
I'm either tired or high lately And I've been wondering If you noticed I was gone Will I sink in tannin waters on my own Will a turtle crane its neck Toward a currawong, a crow, and see me I'm either tired or high lately
5.
Why was I waiting to fall Are you telling me I could've made it after all Could I have really run away from the shame Whats in a name anyway A whole lot of trauma and pain A lot of heart break I'm stoned And I'm thinking of all the reasons I don't deserve to be alive Don't deserve to be loved Whats in a name anyway A whole lot of bullshit and blame A lot of heart break

about

Recorded during a blood moon in the hotel room outside Joshua Tree where Gram Parsons spent his final hours, Trying reflects on AA Matheson’s encounters with friendship, love, identity, spirituality, grief and trauma.

Written over four years and meticulously edited, the album moves glacially through five tracks, drawing on a love of not only melancholic alt-country balladry but also ambient, neo-classical and minimalist influences. The album departs from Matheson’s previously sparse ‘one mic’ field recording style to feature lush additional instrumentation played by Matheson with the exception of strings performed by Kevin Lo, adding bass, electric guitar, slide and woodwind sections.

On Trying, Matheson tells stories of heartbreakingly reconfigured relationships with people, places and self, reflecting on how natural surrounds have influenced a journey of recovery. The album talks of light, landscapes, trees and animals, how they intersect with memories of violence and how these memories can continue to haunt us, in spite of our best efforts to heal.

Trying was lovingly mixed and mastered with the help of John Lee at Phaedra studios to 2” tape with album art directed by Aaron Matheson and photographed by Brandon Ward.

We acknowledge that parts of this album were written and recorded on the stolen lands of Wurundjeri William and Whadjuk Noongar people and that sovereignty was never ceded. The majority of this album was recorded on land belonging to the Serrano, Cahuilla, Mojave, Chemehuevi and Ohlone people prior to colonisation and genocide. We also acknowledge that knowledge of these occupations may be incomplete and welcome any corrections.

credits

released October 18, 2019

Written and recorded by Aaron Matheson.
All instrumentation by Aaron Matheson except strings on 'Finally' by Kevin Lo.
Mixed by Aaron Matheson & John Lee.
Mastered by John Lee at Phaedra Studios.
Art design by Aaron Matheson.
Photography by Brandon Ward.

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Marfa Lights Melbourne, Australia

Marfa Lights is a co-op label based in Melbourne and Los Angeles releasing weird and idiosyncratic music.

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