Still has today released their new single titled ‘Daylight’, from their upcoming EP ‘Symptom Of Fate’, dropping March 8th. ‘Daylight’ evokes all that is good and memorable about what a dreamy, post-punk song should be, whatever that is left to interpretation. But what we do get is a song that is not only memorable but complex in it’s own style. The marriage of lyrics embedded in the music symbolize a dark soliloquy that captures that magic moment when you first listen and becomes apart of you, like a soundtrack for that moment. This is what songwriting is supposed to be. Unimposing yet all encompassing.
The full EP Symptom Of Fate will be released on March 8th, 2022.
About Still
The style of Still’s dreamy post-punk can be clearly traced back to foundational bands of the 80s that they cite as influences like The Cure, Cocteau Twins, and Joy Division, as well as various revival bands since like Interpol and Beach Fossils, but while this band traffics in a classic sound, they attempt to update the tried and true formula with some unique songwriting and production choices.
Daniel McDonough’s lyrics are often inspired by his lifetime struggle with insomnia and a number of other sleep disorders, including sleep paralysis, sleep walking, false awakening loops, and even one terrifying incident where he drove to work on the freeway while asleep. After originally getting into songwriting as a coping mechanism to deal with his chronic insomnia, he now tries to channel the peculiar headspace that comes with waking and sleeping at odd and inconsistent hours into his songwriting for the band.
The lyrics of Still aren’t necessarily confessional, but they still offer some emotional honesty and vulnerability from a slightly obtuse angle. As Daniel puts it himself, “I write in a very subconscious way so it’s hard to say what I’m drawing from. I’m very inspired by film though, which has very much influenced my approach to art. Trying to create complex emotion that’s more intuitive than literal.”
Still formed when lead vocalist Daniel McDonough was looking to put together a band to turn the song ideas he was beginning to put together on piano into a full band post-punk sound, and reached out to Adrian Johnson and Julian Johnson who had both been playing in bands since they were high school classmates of Daniel, recruiting Wesley Wheeler shortly after to be their drummer.
The Symptom of Fate EP follows the band’s debut self-titled EP Still from 2019.
They began sporadically recording the EP during 2020 at the home studio of Neil Popkins, after producer Nick Launay (Nick Cave, Gang of Four, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) introduced the band to Neil and recommended they record together while Nick was occupied with other projects. Towards the end of the recording process, Nick Launay himself came back to add his production touch and polish the final mix, helping really bring out the exact sound the band was shooting for.
LINKS:
https://still.la
https://www.instagram.com/stillmusic.la
https://www.facebook.com/stillmusicofficial
