After a four-year stint in Seattle, Tristan Jemsek recently returned to his home state of Arizona, bringing along with him his shapeshifting musical project Dogbreth—an outfit that’s evolved from jangle and power pop to a sound more rooted in the cactus-lined desert of the Southwest over the past decade as Jemsek has experimented within and outside of the moniker (including a stint as guitarist for terrestrial drone-metal rockers Earth). In recent years Dogbreth has taken a more tranquil, acoustic-guitar-centric approach, as heard on last year’s dual single “How You Did That” / “Morning Moon.”
With a full LP titled Believe This Rain planned for release in August, Jemsek is sharing a new track that swaps those acoustic guitars for a twanging electric guitar, with “Valley of the Moon” sounding like a proper sonic immersion back into the desert. “‘Valley of the Moon’ was written as a gift to my partner Frankie, as we were both moving to Tucson, AZ from our respective cities,” he shares. “I grew up about an hour and a half north in Phoenix, so after spending four years in Seattle—a place I love, but became increasingly depressed and unwell in—coming to Tucson felt simultaneously new and like returning home. I think of it as a love song to potential, and a dream of being cleansed and renewed in the beautiful, brutal and resilient Sonoran Desert.”
Hear the track and see the group’s upcoming tour dates below.
