Your pals at the Scene appreciate the opportunity to shine a light on local musicians who are bubbling up, as well as those who are breaking some new ground. It’s not usually quite as, well, literal as it is in the music vid we’re very pleased to premiere today. 

Hopefully you’ll have heard of Cloudmouth, purveyors of wide-ranging music that draws on folk, rock and art music in curious combinations. In a critic’s pick on a show they played last summer, I noted that what might jump out at you first is the similarities in some of their work to pop explorers from the U.K., like Pink Floyd, XTC or Radiohead. (There are also similarities between Cloudmouth singer-guitarist Kyle Numann’s voice and that of XTC’s Andy Partridge, save their accents.) But, the more you listen, the more you’ll start to recognize how important the folk underpinnings are to what they’re about. 

Their 2023 single “Take Me to a Lake” with its foundation of almost-banjo-y fingerpicked guitar is a fine example. Thematically, the song reflects on feeling disconnected from the natural cycles that play out in many different ways in our lives — the organic process of birth, death and renewal. The song was written early on in the pandemic when most of us found our usual way of going about things completely upended, casting a stark spotlight on what was great (and not-so-great) in how we go about it. 

The music video, directed by Numann, features him and his bandmates emerging from and retreating back into some comfort zones. Drummer Amoretta Taylor peeps out of a flower bed, while bassman Rob Stewart casually observes from amid a cascade of ribbons and other party trappings. Multi-instrumentalist Chris Wilson is possibly becoming part of his bed, while Numann himself bursts out of a hole in the dirt. It ties in neatly with the stanza that comes after the first instrumental break: “Take me to the end / Let me fall down hard / Like a dead tree in the wind / All my cast-off parts are pulled to land / Like they never left the ground / I'll be pushing up again / Looking nothing like myself.”

The impetus for releasing the video now is to encourage you — should you, er, dig what you hear — to catch the band in action. You have two opportunities coming up, both on the East Side: Feb. 10, they’ll be at The Cobra supporting Jenny Wood, and Feb. 22 they’ll headline Drkmttr with help from Zook and more. Tickets aren’t on sale just yet, but keep an eye on Cloudmouth’s Instagram profile for updates. (And watch the profile of Numann’s other project, Infinite Limb, for more on the series of Ambient Sundays events, featuring live ambient music performances at places like restaurant Two Ten Jack.)

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