LAST RECORDINGS ON EARTH
Searows - Death In The Business Of Whaling Searows
The Pacific Northwest singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer, Alec Duckart, has been carving quite a name for himself on the live scene and was the first signing to previous collaborator, Matt Maltese’s, record label, Last Recordings On Earth. His new album, released via that label, is a big step up and looks set to win over hordes of new hearts with his intimate pop confessionals.
His highly emotive indie folk arrives fresh on a cloud of enthralling atmospherics, perfectly pressed on an exclusive Dinked edition with alternative artwork daubed with his signature (the only signed editions available on presale).
For him, “these songs are about the different ways we all bump up against the human condition. Our spirit, the shadow self, our egos, trauma, love and fate. How we cope with our experiences and how we connect and take care of one another in an exceedingly dark and violent world.”
For Fans Of: Matt Maltese / Ethel Cain / Gracie Abrams / Phoebe Bridgers / Adrianne Lenker / lilo
Though Death in the Business of Whaling arrives as Searows’ second album, it’s the product of many firsts, including his first time recording outside the creative cocoon of his bedroom. His 2022 debut Guard Dog was written, recorded and self-produced in Duckart’s Portland home and independently released with little expectation as to how it would be received. The music soon found a passionate audience that were already sharing snippets of Duckart’s music via communities on TikTok and received co-signs from prominent artists such as Ethel Cain and Gracie Abrams, both of whom he went on to support on tour.
Time spent on the road touring the hushed and compelling songs from Guard Dog and subsequent projects End Of The World and flush was instructive when working out the direction his new material would take musically and lyrically, with collections of ideas for his new record starting to take real shape in late 2024. When the time came to commit them to tape, he set up shop in a converted horse barn outside of Seattle, keen to harness a greater sense of scale and space in the creation of the music, working this time with co-producer Trevor Spencer (Father John Misty, Beach House, Mary Lattimore) to expand his creative vision. The result showcases Duckart’s range as a songwriter, pushing the boundaries of his typical acoustic palette into electrifying guitars and beating drums, and writing songs that read more like folklore.
The songs became a vessel for digging deep and exploring his life and point of view, but in a way that spoke outwardly more symbolically than literally. “Something your subconscious understands before your conscious mind does. Visceral rather than literal. And that relationship to our deeper selves, our subconscious, our souls, is a major theme of the album for me. Most of these songs are about the different ways we all bump up against the human condition. Our spirit, the shadow self, our egos, trauma, love and fate. How we cope with our experiences and how we connect and take care of one another in an exceedingly dark and violent world. This record is still deeply personal to me. But it is an attempt to reveal my cards in a more coded, symbolic manner.
Track List
Belly of the Whale
Kill What You Eat
Photograph of a Cyclone
Hunter
Dirt
Side B
Dearly Missed
Junie
In Violet
Geese
Pickup available at Cambridge
Usually ready in 24 hours. Unless it's a Pre-Order
Product information
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Relevant Record Café,
260 Mill Road
Cambridge,
CB1 3NF.
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Steepletone and Crosley Record Players
After having several “faulty” records returned to us (that in actuality had nothing wrong with them), we cannot guarantee that any records we sell will play correctly Crosley or Steepletone branded record players.