Here’s a statement that will always be true: if you’ve been anywhere near the Internet in the past twenty-four hours, chances are you need a little balm. New York quartet The Dig didn’t write the song “Jet Black Hair” with any kind of agenda in mind, other than ironing out a few personal issues—“It came out of a real life events, but it’s filtered through a Rapunzel-type story to mitigate some of the heaviness,” they say—but the track’s spritely mellotron and stepping bassline make a it warm, inviting piece of psychedelic pop, the kind of little world that feels like it was made for you to turn yourself over to for a few moments.
Of course, not even the most welcoming of worlds is free from its problems, and “Jet Black Hair” is no different. “We’re not a folk band per se, but we’ve always loved folk music, and we’ve tried to learn as much of it as we can in the hopes that it’ll show up in the songs in its own way,” the group say. “Like Townes Van Zandt once said, nobody wants to hear blues on blues on blues. And looking at it after the fact, the song appears to cover all of the stages of grief, without the acceptance phase.” That’s a harsh place for the sidewalk to end, but at least the view on the way is nice.
“Jet Black Hair” is taken from their new album Bloodshot Tokyo, which is out February 3 via Roll Call Records; preorder the album here. You can check out the track below, and catch The Dig out on the road.
The Dig tour dates
