Song People Announce New LP THO I SEEM TAME, Share Single
The Philadelphia band will release the album through Strange Mono with an album release show planned at Ortlieb's.
Philadelphia post-punk band SONG PEOPLE has announced its second album, THO I SEEM TAME, set for release via Strange Mono. Alongside the announcement, the group shared the album's first single, SILVER FLAG.
THO I SEEM TAME arrives via Strange Mono on October 9th. The first single, 'Silver Flag,' is out now.
'Silver Flag' touches on themes of self-protection and self-sabotage, drawing on the figure of the Shamir, known in early rabbinical tradition as a worm that allegedly helped King Solomon build his temple. According to the tradition, Solomon had been commanded not to use any tools that could double as weapons in the temple's construction. In the words of Shaina Kapeluck, 'You can't build a temple with anything that can be used as a weapon.'
In the chorus, Kapeluck sings, 'You can only do so much to protect yourself/if you keep letting fear erase your kindness.'
About the Album
Song People was formed in December of 2022 by core members Shaina Kapeluck, Darian Scatton, and Benjamin Schurr. Having played in each other's bands for over twelve years, the three musicians have worked together as a songwriting group built on more than a decade of collaboration.
Kapeluck began her music life as a ballad singer, drawing from traditions of the British Isles, the US and Maritime Canada. Scatton's rhythmic, arpeggiated guitar melodies are informed by his background as a pedal harpist, and Schurr has one foot in industrial post punk and the other in Motown.
THO I SEEM TAME sees the band diving deeper into 80's jangle and dream pop elements that were hinted at on their first record 'Like Somebody Calling Your Name' and utilizing richer, more nuanced production techniques.
Song People recorded the album's initial tracks with Dan Angel (They Are Gutting a Body Of Water, Pile, My Wife's an Angel) above a fabric workshop in Germantown before completing the album with Josh Meakim (A Sunny Day in Glasgow). The production allows guitarist Darian Scatton's arpeggiated guitar playing to become a hypnotic symphonic atmosphere for bass player Benjamin Schurr's melodic bass lines, under singer Shaina Kapeluck's vocal and lyrical style.
The album takes its title from the closing line in Sir Thomas Wyatt's Petrarchan sonnet 'Whoso List to Hunt,' paraphrased in Middle English about his childhood friend Anne Boleyn. The opening track of side B, 'Touch Me Not,' is Kapeluck's modern English translation, a meditation on containment, emotional security, and the risks and rewards of intimacy.
Singles & Release Calendar
AUG 11 _ first single, 'Silver Flag'
SEP 15 _ second single, 'The Cone'
SEP 31 _ third single, 'Intervene on My Behalf'
OCT 9 _ THO I SEEM TAME full-length release
Tracklist
Unwritten Rules
The Cone
The Angel's Nerve
Silver Flag
Mead Hall
Touch Me Not
Pile of Ashes
Hematoma
Intervene On My Behalf
Echoes Only Change
Album Credits
All songs by Song People
Shaina Kapeluck - Vocals
Darian Scatton - Guitar, Synths
Benjamin Schurr - Bass, Synths, Organ, Piano
Drake Tyler - Drums (tracks 1-3 5-10)
Nick Landstrom - Drums (track 4)
Josh Meakim - Percussion, Production, Engineering, Mixing
Dan Angel - Recording
SONG PEOPLE is set to celebrate the release with an album release show at Ortlieb's in Philadelphia. THO I SEEM TAME will be available on LP, tape, and digital formats through Strange Mono.
