Last month, Chicago-based songwriter Evan Uhlmann announced plans for a debut album after sharing a string of singles in 2020, as well as the muted track “Lake Michigan” alongside said news. Working again with his brother Greg (who recently teamed up with Hand Habits’ Meg Duffy for an instrumental album) in the producer seat, today he’s sharing another new cut in the form of “Chasing Daisies,” a warmer, more upbeat composition that blossoms into a full sound over the course of four minutes after opening with spare guitar and percussion.
Lyrically, the track sees Uhlmann flexing his songwriting muscles when it comes to making the everyday sound profound. “I wrote ‘Chasing Daisies’ during the second year of the pandemic,” he recalls. “I think I was listening to a lot of The Stones at the time, especially ‘Dead Flowers,’ and I liked the idea of chasing down a certain kind of flower to give to your loved one while having nothing else to do with my time—a fixation on small gestures.”
The track also features She Keeps Bees’ Jess Larrabee contributing backing vocals as the song expands in the latter half. “As the song started coming into its own, I thought some counter vocals from a female vocalist would be nice,” Uhlmann adds. “I’ve been a longtime fan of Jess, and She Keeps Bees in general, and was pleasantly surprised when she agreed to lend her vocals. I love what she laid down, it brings another dimension to the track.”
The single arrives with a video directed by Sam Congdon that begins with closeup shots of bed sheets before giving way to time-lapse, stop-motion images of a plant growing on top of them. Check it out below.
