Miyuki Furtado, singer and songwriter for New York-based duo Divining Rod, is no stranger to the struggle of finding time to write. After leaving The Rogers Sisters in Norway at the end of a grueling year-long tour, he returned home just before the birth of his daughter. Now, in addition to his new role as proud dad, Furtado found time to write enough songs for a brand new record.
The new single “Darling Down the Row” from the band’s forthcoming LP Return to Crystal Cove on Kilipaki Records chronicles a month’s worth of bedside conversation between Furtado and his father, who battled cancer before becoming unresponsive, slipping into a coma, and passing away. Today Glide is excited to offer an exclusive premiere of the track.
Underneath its energetic exterior, positively vibrating with big beats and evocative, mildly country guitar chording, “Darling Down the Row” is a song about learning and about life. It’s about the realization that, when you pass away, you won’t necessarily see the movie of your life’s significant events play before you like a sepia film reel. It helps that the song kicks off in triumphant fashion with an immediately impactful guitar riff that gives way to Furtado’s deep and commanding vocals. The song captures his ability to craft huge and catchy verses backed by proficient instrumentation, bringing to mind the likes of Jason Isbell and Bruce Springsteen with downhome, everyman lyrics that connect on a deep emotional level.
In his own words, Miyuki Furtado has this to say about the song:
“I had been writing songs between touring and raising my daughter but never got around to recording any of them save a few demoes here and there. When my dad got sick, I put everything on hold for a few months to care for him. After he passed, I had a new sense of urgency to record Darling Down The Row and all the other songs I had been sitting on. For no other reason than to find some sort of closure and to share it with my family in New York and Hawaii.
The recording was done at a feverish pace. I tracked almost all of the drums in one day. Then Patrick and I pieced the entire thing together when ever we could find openings in our schedule. Often in long marathon overnight sessions until the sun came up. I felt like we were in some sort of surreal race.
Darling Down The Row really started gelling when the live version of the band (drummer John Malone, bassist Mike Malone and mandolinist/pianist Eric Kaye) began playing it. I’m just now starting to feel like the song is finished.”
LISTEN:
