Synth-pop shapeshifter Whitney Mower, a.k.a. They/Live, has already shared two transfixing tracks off her forthcoming Violet Coda EP—the glossy “To Know Your Love” and the spacey “Another Body”—and today she shares another. “To Know Your Love (Part II)” pairs Mower’s angelic vocals with careful bass and guitar parts, soothing synths, and pensive electronic percussion—plus a gorgeous saxophone solo courtesy of Lawrence Pi.
“‘To Know Your Love (Part II)’ was originally part of a larger composition for a friend’s short film that, because of COVID, unfortunately wasn’t made,” Mower explains. “I’ve always wanted to compose for film and wanted to see if I could embed a pop song structure within a more atmospheric or cinematic arrangement. As you’ll notice, the chorus lyrics are the same as the song ‘To Know Your Love’—I wanted to place the searching, forlorn sentiment of that song over a new chord progression to hear it through a softer, mistier lens.”
Still, the lyrics contribute to that melancholy sentiment in a big way. “I go where I should never go / I learn what I should never learn / To know you love,” Mower sings in the chorus, which ends on an even more chilling note: “I give what I can never get back / I go where I should never go / To know your love.”
In addition to prepping her new EP, Mower is currently gearing up to play her first show since the start of the pandemic. “After all we’ve observed and experienced these last two years, pursuing art feels somehow more meaningful and yet, even more meaningless,” the musician wrote in a recent Instagram post. “But music has always been my doorway to spirituality, has always kept me sane. So. I suppose I will continue.” Check out her latest offering below.
Violet Coda is out November 5 via Born Losers. You can pre-order it here.
