Foreign Fields have spent the last few years actively trying to simplify their lives. In 2022, with the world drastically changing, they realized a desire to do things differently: they sought out joy and excitement. Pulling a live band together with their long-time musical companies Nate Babbs (drums) and Nick Morawiecki (guitar), ideas were shared, songs were sketched in real-time, and they focused on no longer being so precious about their band’s output. The result is What It Cost (due out September 13th via Nettwerk), the fourth full-length album and a reimagining of all that the band stands for. The album is a collection of ten newly formed songs, buoyed by friendship and the power of collaborative spirit. It’s as loose and free as they’ve ever sounded while retaining the emotive shimmer that has always provided the band’s beating heart.
What It Cost follows a body of work that includes three full-length albums spanning the previous decade. Their all-encompassing 2020 LP, The Beauty Of Survival, was a lush blurring of folk, ambient, and electronica, preceded by 2017’s Take Cover and 2012’s Anywhere But Where I Am. Eric and Brian saw it then, as they do now, as the end of a chapter, the final part of a trilogy where they found answers to the questions they’d previously posed. What It Cost opens up a new chapter of Foreign Fields.
Today Glide is offering an exclusive premiere of “A Little Longer” recorded at Hive in Eau Claire, WI, with engineer Brian Joseph (Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, Volcano Choir). There is a bright breeziness to this song that colorfully captures that new band feel of Foreign Fields. It sits as a love letter that Brian wrote to himself as he sought out self-compassion to allow himself the time required to become the best version of himself he could be to his wife and family. Indeed, the song is an infectious work of folk-rock that is an instant earworm and is brimming with feel-good emotions that resonate in a universal way. The video captures the magic and chemistry of this band as they balance sharp guitar work with rich yet airy harmonies that feel ready to grab the attention of the mainstream despite maintaining a sense of indie rock cool.
Brian Holl of Foreign Fields describes the inspiration and process behind the song:
“Our goal for this record was to break free from the usual Foreign Fields process—just Eric and me spending hours in a room, perfecting every little detail. This time, we wanted to bring others into the mix and create a more live “band” sound. We also aimed to showcase this collaborative process visually as we released the record.
With that in mind, we booked a weekend trip to Red Wing, Minnesota, last November with an open agenda: capture four songs with the guys who helped shape and record them. The concept for the video for “A Little Longer” came naturally. We wanted it to focus purely on the performance, capturing the vibe of all of us together in one room. So, we put Mitch Buss, the filmmaker behind the Red Wing Sessions videos, in the middle of us and hit record.”
WATCH:
