Trace Mountains debuts “Turn Twice,” A Partner to Lean On’s first single

Dave Benton lives in Brooklyn, plays in LVL UP, and went to SUNY Purchase with Aaron Maine and Mitski and Sheer Mag. He also puts out songs as Trace Mountains; one of my favorites is about suburban New Jersey and listening to American Water.

In March, Benton will release a new Trace Mountains album called A Partner to Lean On. First single "Turn Twice," debuting below, is an impressively mixed lo-fi pop jam. It features auto-tuned mumbles, pretty-sounding guitars, and lyrics about cemeteries, dogs, and navigating life. In all, it's a welcome addition to the canon of casually feel-good songs to put on first thing in the morning, when you're feeling half-right.

According to an email from Benton, he started writing the song eight years ago and it has appeared in various forms since then. "Here, I finally feel that I've finished it," he explained. "Completed in the summer of last year, the final arrangement attempts to bridge the gap between feelings almost a decade old, and the anger and confusion of the year 2017. The song, in my mind, is dedicated to my grandfather, Robert Patterson, who died last year."