Brass Bed, a psych pop group grown out of Lafayette, Louisiana, are putting the final touches on their fourth LP, In the Yellow Leaf, which is due out next spring. In advance (way, way in advance) of that, they've released the first single off that record, “I Am Just A Whisper,” out October 30th on Modern Outsider.
"I Am Just A Whisper" is something of a departure for Brass Bed, whose three members have been making music together since they were in college. Lead singer Johnny Campos told The FADER over email that he wrote the song "while watching the Cohen brothers movie The Man Who Wasn't There." Campo was inspired by Billy Bob Thornton's character [Ed Crane], who is "a reasonable, soft spoken man who is often not heard," and "identified all too easily with feeling that it doesn't matter what I say. The loudest voice gets the credit.” Take all my legs, the song goes, forget my face/ and my stutter/ I shouldn't have cared. There's the cold sweat of uncertainty in this track, the feeling when you're not really sure you have anything to offer...Or, maybe you're not really sure about anything at all. ("Life has dealt me some bum cards. Or maybe I just haven't played 'em right, I don't know," says Ed Crane.)
"I Am Just A Whisper" carries that apprehension through its guitar-heavy tempo, which contrasts with the sweet ooh, ooh, oohs throughout. "This thing is a four-minute panic attack in a body full of cramping muscles," said guitarist Christiaan Mader. "It's definitely the fastest we've ever recorded, and maybe the most thrilling to perform.” Listen to "I Am Just A Whisper" below.