I’m sure you could’ve guessed there would eventually be a Homeschool: Book II EP back when Tom D’Agustino released his debut solo EP as Homeschool last year called, you guessed it, Homeschool: Book I. The former Active Bird Community vocalist has yet to announce a street date for the latest EP, but today we’re getting the first taste of the project with the warm, alt-folk lead single “Wino,” which echoes the lush sounds of late-’00s and early-’10s indie rock likely due in part to production work from David Greenbaum, who’s worked with Cage the Elephant, and Kevin Morby producer Sam Cohen.
Lyrically, the track deals with the dichotomy of “how we’re always alone, perpetually, our whole lives, and the equally resounding truth that none of us are alone, and none of us ever will be,” D’Agustino shares. “I was definitely in an angsty place because the early demos of ‘Wino’ are pretty in-your-face rock versions,” he recalls. “I would scream and shout these pretty self-indulgent choruses that, looking back, didn’t really do the heart of the song any justice. I’m not exactly sure what that ‘heart’ is, but I enjoy the prospect of the listener putting themselves into the wino’s shoes, letting some of the loneliness of the song and that character seep into their lives.”
Of working with Greenbaum, D’Agustino adds: “David genuinely enjoys trying new things, and being surprised and experimenting. He is the least rigid creative I’ve met, and that meant so much to me when crafting these songs. He let me run wild with these songs but questioned my intentions thoughtfully and earnestly in a way that did not make me feel threatened or controlled, but rather he was speaking to me in a creative language that can be so rare to share with another human being.”
Hear the results of the collaboration in the lyric video below, or stream the track here.
