This Friday (June 14), Annie Bacon & her OSHEN will release Storm, their fourth LP. The anticipated release wouldn’t be complete without a monstrous opener, and today, the band shares that statement piece. Glide is proud to premiere “Secret Broken Heart,” the latest single from Storm, and your introduction to what is shaping up to be a landmark release for the folk-rock band. A rugged vocal performance is accented by cascading backing harmonies and delivers poetry about bottling up pain and grief. A chugging arrangement creates a bed of toe-tapping tempos and sleek guitars for a simplistic yet potent single.
“Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” is one of my favorite songs and always has been. It’s a perfect song. When I found it’s basically only two chords (there’s a passing third chord in the bridge), I was blown away. I started playing with simplicity as a songwriting tool,” explains Bacon. “Secret Broken Heart” showcases that the artist took this sentiment to heart. The band creates strong yet minimal rhythms that can miraculously hold the weight of Bacon’s vulnerability. “I’ve also been playing a lot with prosody lately. I used to enjoy writing what I called ‘sad songs in the major key’ and playing up the contradiction between the feel of the song and the content of it. But prosody is all about matching those elements, so the song SOUNDS LIKE what it’s about.” Therein lies the magic of this single. The minimalist approach to the arrangement still sounds rugged and full despite Bacon’s newfound love for bluntness. “My guitar part on ‘Secret Broken Heart’ is really only four notes, barely outlining two different chords.”
A booming drum pattern drives the “Secret Broken Heart” arrangement. “Omar Cuellar is both one of my dearest friends and my ‘mind drummer’ – an idea I got from a Victor Wooten video where he said something like, ‘If you imagine a drummer while you play, it will improve your rhythm because you’ll never imagine a shitty drummer,’” continues Bacon when discussing the production on “Secret Broken Heart.” The chemistry shared on this track is less of a fictional energy that brings people together and more of an earthly and palpable musical gravitational pull that strings ideas together seamlessly and inexplicably. “He’s basically part of my creative process and performances de facto now. But I was lucky enough to have him come visit Ann Arbor last August (from Austin) and put actual drums to this song for the first time. It’s really special to have people in your orbit who deeply understand your creative vision – and Omar really gets mine. He immediately knew exactly how to elevate my four guitar notes into this folky screamer. Anson Hohne plays on the recording, but we worked from the practice session with Omar. I’ve been blessed with some truly incredible drummers in my musical life. There’s a whole other conversation in that about the almost spiritual experience of facing my deeply seeded trust issues via learning / needing to rely on drummers.
