Max Bien Kahn brings a wonderfully warm vintage flare to “Lose.” The natural breakup on his voice alone will likely have you completely sold on this track, but if that’s not enough there’s plenty more to dig in on. Overall, it’s a fitting tone for the Brit-pop gone surf sensibility of the songwriting. Accented heavily by a perfectly thin distant guitar tone, playful drumming, wildly catchy informal vocal melodies, and eventually a Farfisa or vox combo organ sound that ties the whole tone together. Based in New Orleans, it’s easy to imagine this tune playing to a room full of enthusiastic dancers and cheap drinks while lyrically it’s got a strong melancholic theme. Make sure to keep an eye out for the whole album When I Cross it Off ouut in early July.
“My partner gave me the novel ‘The Sarah Book’ by Scott McClanahan when we had just starting dating and my mom was nearing the end of her life. It’s a book about a divorce, which looking back is a funny thing to get from a new girlfriend,” says Kahn.
“McClanahan’s novel opens with the lines “There is only one thing I know about life. If you live long enough you start losing things.” Nobody makes it out of this life unscathed no matter where you’re from or who you are. The book broke my heart and made me laugh out loud. I couldn’t put it down and it moved me so much that I wrote this song. I embraced my loss because I realized that we all go through it. I didn’t feel like I was alone. As I was writing this album I was trying to make something that made me feel as good as that book did. I was looking the hard stuff right in the eye and not really looking for answers, just getting through my days one task at a time and finding pleasure in the little things.”
