When Uproxx recently interviewed Wild Pink frontman John Ross about his band’s meditative self-titled debut album, he said that the record’s lyrical themes of restlessness have “more to do with an existential [threat] than a general malaise of middle-class kids feeling bored.” That’s significant, but there’s also a big part of Ross that isn’t too worried about the words in his music, or about having words in it at all.
After college, he headed to Brooklyn to be a film composer, and in addition to his Wild Pink-related business, he writes songs for advertisements. Further proving that the instrumental side of music isn’t something he’s choosing to ignore or overlook, he also has a new ambient-leaning solo endeavor called Eerie Gaits.
The project’s debut album, Bridge Music, is dropping on June 9 via Tiny Engines, and today, Ross is sharing a single from it. The song in question is “Eau Gallie,” a calming beauty that will take you and the warm summer afternoon you rode in on into its gentle arms.
“‘Eau Galli’ is a song for my hometown,” Ross said. “I really love Max’s pedal steel performances here. And the bass reminds me of Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland.'”
The track is alt-country put through an ambient filter, like if John Denver listened to more Japancakes and Brian Eno. It’s aural proof that we don’t get to hear serene slide guitar often enough on a day-to-day basis, and that, like the most potent of human feelings, language isn’t always the most effective form of expression.
Bridge Music is available on June 9, and it’s available for pre-order via Tiny Engines. Revisit our interview with Ross here, and listen to “Eau Gallie” above.
