Melbourne-based indie folk band, The Redwoods, have released their new track “I Wrote A Letter”. Gentle, contemplative, and beautiful, it serves as a loving eulogy for a band that is no longer together; a mosaic of recollections and brighter times.
I Wrote A Letter has captivating reverie to it. A temperate, meandering percussion that confidently carries the tale whilst gentle acoustic guitar strums beneath lead vocalist Joshua Moore‘s distinctive vocal. Rolling Stone has called it,
“a mesmerising piece of indie-folk.”
We couldn’t agree more. These guys have the easy listening Australiana sound down pat, sit in a similar space to other Aussie faves, Boy & Bear. Recorded at Sing Sing Studio and producer Callum Edwards’ home studio Sloth Studios, “I Wrote A Letter” pulls influences such as Fleet Foxes, Mumford and Sons and even iconic troubadour James Taylor.
Speaking on the creative process behind the track, Moore says,
“I Wrote A Letter is a song I wrote the day after splitting up with a band I loved due to an altercation with the drummer who I also love but have had a troubled friendship with.The lyrics came together in about 10-15 minutes and are mostly images, memories, and musings from some time we both spent in America, and in particular Oregon.Though there’s no reference to the book, I often think of Jack Kerouac’s ‘Dharma Bums’ when I play it.I like to leave my songs open to the interpretation of the listener, but the chorus is intended to evoke a feeling of both overwhelm and hope, two feelings that for myself I have often found to be mutually exclusive.”
Amongst the Forest
The Redwoods have created a beautiful accompanying video clip, directed by Tomas Busby (Millar Jukes), featuring Jessie Oshodi.
The clip is as compelling and powerful as the track itself. Footage of The Redwoods performing the track amongst an actual forest of redwood trees is interspersed with footage of a young woman scrambling for answers amongst a steadily growing influx of letters, appearing as if from nowhere.
The clip is visually beautiful, hypnotic even – as Moore describes,
“I workshopped the idea for the clip with Tomas Busby, the director, one afternoon during lockdown.I knew I wanted the clip to be shot at the Redwoods in Warburton and that I wanted a female lead to play a part, but it was Tomas who brought up the idea of letters actually appearing in the video, which made me think of the scene from the first Harry Potter book when letters come streaming through the chimney.So, the aim became to slowly overwhelm the screen, the band, the lead actor Jessie, and the viewer with letters as the song went on, in something of a surreal horror-esque concept that could leave the audience guessing as to what was what and who was who.Often I find that music and nature can tell their own stories without us getting in the way.”
Truly Captivating
“I Wrote A Letter” is a genuinely fascinating song, brilliantly constructed by a songwriter who obviously understands the impact of accomplished songwriting – an insight that is most likely the result of a lifetime of listening to music. Moore explains,
“I got into music through my father, who played, and still plays, bass in blues and rock bands.So I spent a lot of time at pubs in Warrnambool when I was young watching him play.I later took guitar really seriously when I left to board in Geelong, as I wasn’t really interested much in doing well in school and preferred to learn to play all my favourite records.Things like Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty were staples, but there were bands like Jet, the Darkness, and the Vines that were popular at the time too.”
“I Wrote a Letter” is out now.
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