When the busy shuffle of life comes to an unexpected stop, it can sometimes feel like life is moving in slow motion. Those moments of reflective pause are at the center of Shannen Moser‘s beautifully melancholy new track “Paint By Number.”
The Philadelphia-based artist first shared the stunning tune and its accompanying music video on Monday (Aug. 8), giving an impressive first glimpse into their upcoming album The Sun Still Seems to Move, due out Sept. 30 via Lame-O Records.
“I wrote this song at a time when days truly just felt like the days were bleeding into one another,” Moser says. “I had been experiencing a lot of change in my life and the dichotomy of monotony and chaos at the same time was really confusing — things felt slow and in that I found a lot of comfort despite the sadness and uncertainty.”
“Long day coming to an end / Kicking your shoes off at the door,” they reflect during the song’s engaging introduction. “‘What’s on your mind tonight, tonight?’ /
‘A series of quiet moments makes forever,’ you reply.”
“Leaning into the stillness of those kinds of feelings can be extremely humbling,” Moser explains. “This song is really an attempt at gratitude for the loved ones in my life and the experience of being able to quiet the darkness for one another.”
Watch the official music video for “Paint By Number” below:
The Sun Still Seems to Move marks Moser’s third album, and their first full-length LP in over four years. The project began as a sonically simplistic mixture of just vocals and guitar, but a sudden personal loss caused Moser to drastically shift their creative approach. With the help of co-producer Alex Melendez and an array of musically gifted friends, they built an immersive soundscape of cleverly-layered accompaniment, including banjo, lap steel, saxophone and more.
“At a certain point I was like, let’s just go for it,” Moser says. “Let’s just really lean into the sadness of the world. I really wanted to make a thing that I had never made before, because I was feeling a way that I had never felt before.”
You can learn more about Shannen Moser by following them on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Bandcamp.
Shannen Moser, The Sun Still Seems to Move Track List:
1. “Paint By Number”
2. “Oh My God”
3. “Dendrochronology”
4. “Two Eyes”
5. “Ben”
6. “The Sun Still Seems to Move”
7. “The Bell”
8. ‘Foul Ball”
9. “Liminal”
10. “Tranquilized”
11. “Forever”
13 John Prine Lyrics That Prove He Wrote Like No One Else
Prine’s lyrical stories were both fantastical and simple; he wrote with a Midwest-bred honesty and humor that kept listeners on their toes. His catalog, spread over 18 albums, contains vivid stories (“Lake Marie”), insightful looks at the human condition (“Hello in There”) and sweet love songs (“Aimless Love”).
These 13 Prine lyrics — largely pulled from his songs’ choruses — are some of his very best: