Beck, Asher White, Friko and more of the week’s best new songs

Summary

All Songs Considered – Beck, Asher White, Friko and More of the Week’s Best New Songs

NPR | Host: Robin Hilton | Date: February 3, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Robin Hilton is joined by contributor Lars Gottridge to discuss and share some of the week’s best new songs. The two traverse everything from iconic hidden gems finally streaming, to compelling indie discoveries, plus dive into a beautiful reinterpretation project, an atmospheric folk duo, and a reflective ambient pick to set the tone for the year. They begin with a candid conversation on the Grammys before launching into new music by Beck, rat panat, Friko, Sybil, Asher White, and Simon Wojciek.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Enduring Oddity of the Grammys

• Robin shares his mixed feelings, noting it was the first time he'd watched the Grammys in 25 years, largely for his kids’ sake.
  • “None of them ever get anything right. I mean, that’s part of why people watch them, so they can be incredulous.” (01:25)
• The two highlight notorious Grammy moments, e.g., Steely Dan’s 2001 win over Radiohead, Eminem, and Beck, and discuss inclusivity and the industry’s evolution.
  • Quote: "But I think, honestly, back in 2001, when they gave the Album of the Year Grammy to Steely Dan, that just kind of broke me." (01:33, Robin)
• Both acknowledge the thrill when a beloved artist wins:
  • Quote: "They're juvenile and dumb until an artist you really love and care about gets nominated. And then suddenly you remember, oh, right, these actually really do matter." (02:47, Robin)

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2. Beck – “Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime”

• [03:46-12:28]
• Beck has quietly released a collection of rarities, including this 20+ year-old cover from 2004's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soundtrack, now streaming for the first time.
• Robin is instantly transported:
  • Quote: "When his voice first comes in, I’m totally cooked... one of the most perfectly delivered opening lines in any song ever." (10:30, Robin)
• Lars notes the timelessness and “retro-y, trippy” sound, with distinctive use of mellotron; Robin highlights John Bryan’s production and the “Seachange era” feel.
• They reveal it's a cover of The Korgis (1980), and call Beck’s version the “most iconic.”
• Speculation: Is Beck teasing a new album of original work?

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3. rat panat – “kijiji”

• [12:42-18:41]
• Lars spotlights a discovery: rat panat, an artist from Montreal now in Valencia, with an album over easy.
• Described as very “homemade and lovingly put together,” reminiscent of early Grimes or cavernous indie pop.
• Robin is taken by the song’s texture and mix:
  • Quote: "At times, I hear like... a little bit of almost like a Stereolab kind of thing going on... her voice is kind of buried in the mix in an interesting way." (17:22, Robin)
• The two try to decipher lyrics; Lars explains “kijiji” is Canada’s version of Craigslist, hinting at themes of domesticity and indelible indie charm.
• Lars: “Immediately fell in love with this one.” (18:41)

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4. Friko – “Seven Degrees”

• [19:58-26:47]
• Robin unveils a new song from Friko (pronounced “Freako”), a Chicago duo, previewing their upcoming album Something Worth Waiting For.
• The song is described as “classic psych folk, late 60s, early 70s sound” with a modern, uplifting build—Robin calls it:
  • Quote: “Everything is gonna be alright. They just nailed that classic psych folk... sound that I am always gonna be a sucker for.” (24:59, Robin)
• Lars notes influences: Bowie, T. Rex, Beatles, and admits he usually defaults to the originals but is impressed:
  • Quote: "It is very well sung and performed. You know, I'm into it. I'm not saying I'm against it." (26:32, Lars)
• Produced by John Congleton, another “secret weapon” of indie production.

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5. Sybil – “Witch Wife”

• [26:59-31:56]
• Lars plays “Witch Wife” by Sybil, the Holgate sisters (Chloe and Lily), fusing haunting vocals and viola, named after ancient Greek prophetesses.
• Sybil’s “deceptive simplicity” and intertwining harmonies stand out, with lyrics drawn from Edna St. Vincent Millay’s poem.
• Robin observes the music’s ancient quality:
  • Quote: “So witchy and ancient sounding. I love this. What is this?” (30:14, Robin)
• Discuss “unnotated music” (oral, generational transmission) and poetry as lyrics—a thread running through recent new releases.
• Album set for February release.

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6. Asher White – “Casper” (Jessica Pratt cover)

• [32:53-40:18]
• Robin debuts Asher White’s soon-to-release project: a song-by-song recreation of Jessica Pratt’s debut album.
• Asher White transforms “Casper,” injecting raw emotion and “shattered grief” with blazing guitars, evoking Mount Eerie’s Phil Elverum.
• The hosts compare interpretive choices:
  • Lars: "Does not take the cadence... of Jessica Pratt, which I think is wise—slow and plodding, but it punctuates the notes when you need to pay attention to what is being sung." (39:59, Lars)
• The album Jessica Pratt drops February 4th.

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7. Setting the Year’s Tone: Song as an Annual Compass

• [40:36-44:17]
• Robin asks Lars about his “January tradition”—selecting a single song to set the year’s emotional mood.
  • Examples from past years include Pigeon Pit, Yasmin Williams, Luxury.
  • Lars frames it as “a diary entry of where my head’s at at the start of the year.” (41:12)
• Doubts the song dictates his listening trends; rather, it’s a ritual to “reset.”
• Both hosts remark how “January always feels so long.”

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8. Simon Wojciek – “It’s Only Begun”

• [44:04-49:07; episode close]
• Lars shares his 2026 “January song”: by Polish composer Simon Wojciek—an ambient, post-classical piece with guitar, tuba, and Icelandic vocals. The track is called "It's Only Begun" from the album When You Rub Your Eyes You See Things You Can't Describe.
• Described as “obsidian” in tone, “everything is beginning and ending at the same time.”
• Lyrics revolve around “Don’t you worry,” traversing pleading, desperation, and acceptance.
• Robin concludes with wisdom:
  • Quote: "Part of the trick to being happy in life is understanding that you’re not always going to be happy and that despair is part of it. They are always dancing together." (44:04, Robin)
• The show closes by letting the music linger, underscoring the episode’s emotional resonance and commitment to musical discovery.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "I think the thing with these award shows... they're kind of silly. I know they matter a lot to the people who are getting the awards or just to be nominated." (01:03, Robin Hilton)
• "It is one of the most perfectly delivered opening lines in any song ever." (10:30, Robin Hilton, on Beck)
• "I could not make out what she was saying. I listened to this so many times, trying to figure out what is this about." (17:22, Robin, on rat panat)
• "Everything is gonna be all right. They just nailed that classic psych folk... sound that I am always gonna be a sucker for." (24:59, Robin, on Friko)
• "So witchy and ancient sounding. I love this. What is this?" (30:14, Robin, on Sybil)
• "I am drawn to despair and it's something I have to fight within myself. But I accept that as a part of myself." (44:01, Lars, on his musical inclinations)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:26 – 03:41: Grammy Awards discussion, cultural significance, perennial flaws
• 03:46 – 12:28: Beck, "Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime" – backstory, sound analysis, cover origins
• 12:42 – 18:41: rat panat, "kijiji" – artist background, sonic landscape, “kijiji” meaning
• 19:58 – 26:47: Friko, "Seven Degrees" – song premiere, influences, arrangement dissection
• 26:59 – 31:56: Sybil, "Witch Wife" – duo’s origins, ancient/folk/traditional stylings, poetry as lyrics
• 32:53 – 40:18: Asher White, "Casper" (Jessica Pratt cover) – tribute rationale, transformative interpretation
• 40:36 – 44:17: Lars’ January Song tradition – musical intentionality as ritual, emotional year-setting
• 44:04 – 49:07: Simon Wojciek, "It’s Only Begun" – ambient closure, acceptance of despair and hope

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Final Thoughts

This episode offers a rich, eclectic sampling of new music, from rediscovered classics to experimental folk and boundary-pushing covers. Robin and Lars’ banter is candid and enthusiastic, providing cultural context and emotional resonance alike. The show remains a must-listen for anyone passionate about music discovery and reflection.

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Transcript

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[Robin Hilton]

I should have hit record. That was gold.

[Lars Gottridge]

Yeah, that was really good, Robin.

[Robin Hilton]

We're recording this episode of All Songs Considered on Monday morning, the morning after. What the Grammys like to tell. This is music's biggest night. Lars Gottridge™ I don't imagine you don't strike me as a Grammys kind of guy. Do you watch the Grammys?

[Lars Gottridge]

I think a certain point in my life, I used to hate watch them.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah.

[Lars Gottridge]

And there was a point in my professional life where I had to somewhat pay attention to them. I suppose I probably still should. But you haven't. But I haven't, because nobody's told me that I need to.

[Robin Hilton]

I actually watched them this time. Well, I watched most of them maybe three quarters of the way through before I. I finally petered out and had to go to bed. But it was probably the first time I've watched. And I'm not kidding, maybe 25 years. I think the thing with these award shows, like, all of them, Grammys, Oscars, Emmys, whatever, you know, they're kind of silly. I know they matter a lot to the people who are getting the awards or just to be nominated.

[Lars Gottridge]

Right.

[Robin Hilton]

None of them ever get anything right. I mean, that's part of why people watch them, so they can be incredulous and.

[Sam (Guest or Contributor)]

How dare you?

[Robin Hilton]

I can't believe. You know. But there's something about the Grammys that I think they're just kind of egregiously bad sometimes when it comes to the winners, they pick. They did pick Bad Bunny for Album of the year, which I'm totally down with this year. But I think, Honestly, back in 2001, when they gave the Album of the Year Grammy to Steely Dan, that just kind of broke me. They were up against Radiohead's Kid A.

[Lars Gottridge]

Sure.

[Robin Hilton]

Eminem's Marshall Mathers lp, Beck's Midnight Vultures.

[Lars Gottridge]

Okay.

[Robin Hilton]

And Paul Simons. You're the One. I don't think women released any albums back then. Oh, that's why you don't see any albums.

[Lars Gottridge]

That's why I thought they still gave it to.

[Robin Hilton]

And I love Steely Dan. But something about it, it's just like, okay, this is just so dumb. I don't know if I can keep doing this. And then in, like, whatever it was 2017 or 2018 or something like that, when Neil Portnow, the head of the recording academy, said, the problem is that women just need to step up.

[Lars Gottridge]

Right. Yes, I remember that.

[Robin Hilton]

Oh, my God. That was like, how are the Grammys still a thing after this? Like, why are we. What are we even here with this?

[Lars Gottridge]

Yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

But my kids wanted to watch it, and it was fun seeing the performances. The Tyler the Creator performance was actually pretty incredible.

[Lars Gottridge]

I guess.

[Robin Hilton]

Part of it's the kind of thing like, they're juvenile and dumb until an artist you really love and care about gets nominated. And then suddenly you remember, oh, right, These actually really do matter.

[Lars Gottridge]

It was nice to see a band like Turnstile didn't like Turnstile win Best Rock.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah. Best Rock Album.

[Lars Gottridge]

Best rock Album. And they also won Best Metal Performance, which, you know, they're not a metal band. I don't know how they got thrown in there, but, you know, whatever. It was cool to see a band that I once saw play in basements.

[Robin Hilton]

Kid30 well, if you want a deeper dive on the Grammys, our friends at the Pop Culture Happy Hour did a whole episode all about it. We put that in the feedback. We're gonna talk about new music on this episode. The songs that we're obsessed with this week. And I actually wanna start with. Well, I mentioned Becky.

[Lars Gottridge]

I was waiting for the tie in. I was like, I think I see the trails he's leaving.

[Robin Hilton]

Yes. I actually wanna start with a Beck song. This is an older song from him that is only now kind of seeing the light of the day. It's just been made available on streaming services for the first time. The song is called Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime. And if you are a fan of the 2004 movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, this was a song that was featured in that film. And I absolutely loved it at the time. And the only way to hear it is if you bought the soundtrack album. I actually had the score by John Bryan and the song was not even on that score. But I think there was a separate soundtrack album with some of the other songs. That was the only way to hear it. But Beck just surprise released a little mini album that has all of these singles and rarities and one offs. A lot of stuff he did for films on it. He's calling it Everybody's got to learn Sometime. And he opens it with this song.

[Sam (Guest or Contributor)]

Change your heart. Look around you. Change your heart. It will astound you. I need your loving. Like the sunshine. And everybody's gotta learn sometime. Everybody's gotta learn sometime. Everybody's gotta learn sometime. Change your heart. Look around you. Change your heart. It will astound you. I need your loving. Like the sunshine. Everybody's got to learn sometime. Everybody's gotta love sometime. Everybody's gonna love.

[Singer or Vocalist]

Sam.

[Sam (Guest or Contributor)]

Love it like the sunshine. Everybody's got to learn sometime. Everybody's going to learn sometime. Everybody's going to learn some time. Everybody's gonna learn sometime. Everybody's gonna learn sometime. Everybody's gonna learn sometime.

[Robin Hilton]

I hadn't heard this song in maybe 20 years, not since maybe I heard it in the film.

[Lars Gottridge]

Yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

And when his voice first comes in, I'm totally cooked. It's like. It is one of the most perfectly delivered opening lines in any song ever. And I love his voice so much. It was so great to hear this again.

[Lars Gottridge]

I don't think I've seen the movie this is from since it came out. And if people don't know about Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, it's about this machine that can erase somebody from your memory.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah. If you have there was something terrible that happened and you're haunted by the memory of it, they can go in and sort of surgically remove just that memory.

[Lars Gottridge]

Yeah. When does the song come in the movie?

[Robin Hilton]

It's in the opening credits.

[Lars Gottridge]

It's in the opening credits.

[Robin Hilton]

So it really sets the tone for the whole film. And this has such a distinctive sound from that era, from like late 90s into the early 2000s. Sort of a retro Y kind of trippy sound. Lots of mellotrons, that little flute, keyboardy sound. That's a melotron.

[Lars Gottridge]

Well, this would have been in his seat change era, correct?

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, right. In that era. And also John Bryan, the composer for the score for the film, who produced this, he was doing a lot of work at that time as well. If you listen to some of Amy Mann's stuff, particularly what was in the movie Magnolia at the time, it sounds a lot like this. It was just very, very much of that era. And I really, really love that sound. This is actually a cover song.

[Lars Gottridge]

This is what I was like. I looked it up a little bit this morning. I was like, oh, this is a cover song. I didn't.

[Robin Hilton]

A band called the Corgis. I think the original came out in 1980. This is by far the most. There have been lots of covers. Lots of people have covered this song. But this is by far, I think, the most iconic cover of this song. It has been seven years since Beck put out an album of all original new songs.

[Lars Gottridge]

Oh, yeah. It's been a while.

[Robin Hilton]

It's been a minute. But my spidey sense tells me that he may be up to something for this year. There's this album that he just surprise released. He's been playing more, he's been doing some shows. So hopefully we'll get a little bit more from him later this year.

[Lars Gottridge]

I hope so. The next song I want to play, I think sort of dovetails nicely with the themes of eternal sunshine, of the spotless mind. At least there's one lyric in it that I'm like, oh, okay. I can connect these two together. I spend a lot of time looking for unknown artists. This is my joy. And so last week, I found this artist based out of Valencia, Spain, apparently is originally from montreal, who records under the name rat panat. And she put out this great little album called over easy. It kind of reminds me of early grimes cave records. Speaking of beck, just very homemade and lovingly put together. And there's a song on it called kijiji.

[Singer or Vocalist]

You I like to keep busy doesn't matter with your bre I just need to see my great night so pretty what it gives you depends on what you. I don't want to to. I don't want it to be anymore. You and I, we like to keep busy I don't care who's with me I just need to to forgive you I don't want. I don't want to. I don't want to die no more. Kind of girl you love on vacation Summer love turns to autumn fall back to reality. You don't want to know no more you don't want to. Nothing else can please me. Nothing else can cleanse me.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, Great find. She's actually doing a lot of different things on this song. Like, I. At times, I hear, like, a little bit of almost like stereo lab kind of thing going on. I don't know if you hear that, but with these hints of kind of a poppy take on shoegaze or something, because her voice is kind of buried in the mix in an interesting way. Like, I really. I could not make out what she was saying. I listened to this so many times, trying to figure out what is this about.

[Lars Gottridge]

I heard, like, you hear, like, snippets of words. So I hear the word fresh laundry, so something domestic. And then kijiji, I looked up, apparently, is the Canadian version of craigslist.

[Robin Hilton]

Oh, is it really? That is not. I just assumed it was maybe somebody's name or something, because, I mean, it.

[Lars Gottridge]

Could be, but, like, that was the only reference I could find. It was like, okay, that makes sense. She's originally from Montreal, so, you know, but like the jangly acoustic guitar kind of keeps things steady. The monosynth line kind of like perks your ears up in different places. It's a really well put together little indie pop song that doesn't ever really get boring because sometimes they can, you know, three chords. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love me three chords. Three chords in the truth, you know, but sometimes you need a little bit more Immediately fell in love with this one.

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[Robin Hilton]

Well, I want to play something that actually, as of this taping, hasn't been announced yet. It's a new album from the band Freeco. I bet you like Freako, right?

[Lars Gottridge]

Freako? I'm not familiar with Freako.

[Robin Hilton]

Oh really? I would have thought this was totally in your wheelhouse. Freako F R I K O It's pronounced Freako. Absolutely in love with this song that I want to play. It's called Seven Degrees. Freako is a duo out of Chicago. And the album that again hasn't been announced yet, but is about to be is called Something Worth Waiting For. And the song that I want to play from it is called Seven Degrees.

[Singer or Vocalist]

Dad had said we were young Seven ties between us and anyone we'd ever wish to meet One's your mom, two's your friends Three's the one that broke your heart and then threw you to your knees 4's an asshole in disguise and we don't ever speak of 56.

[Sam (Guest or Contributor)]

Is just really mean.

[Singer or Vocalist]

But there's one I'll tell ya Wonder who's gonna help you Anytime you're ever in need 7 degrees just one more for you and me Were so close in a line waiting to miss Waiting for that summer breeze to throw us through each other's arms Seven souls it's seven more degrees.

[Sam (Guest or Contributor)]

I have searched, I have crawled I have drank at every bar still I sit and we. One was something two was more God.

[Singer or Vocalist]

I can't count it any longer. I'm losing it. Justin. Some might say the well is dry But I just pray I'm living wise and win on my my breath Seven degrees Just one more for you and me Were so close in a line waiting to meet Waiting for that summer breeze to throw us through each other's arms with seven souls with seven more to clear. Next. 2, 3, 4, 7 de Just one more. Waiting for me Waiting for that summer break Flow each other's arms Seven songs and seven more. Seven songs and seven more. Seven songs. Seven. Good night, Cleveland.

[Lars Gottridge]

We love you. Just so to paint a picture when they go into the climax there at the end, Robin flicked an imaginary lighter and I did. Raised it in the air.

[Robin Hilton]

Let's go to a show, Lars. Let's go do it. I love this song so much. What a great build. At the end, it's just like, everything is gonna be all right. They just nailed that classic psych folk, like, late 60s, early 70s sound that I am always gonna be a sucker for.

[Lars Gottridge]

I mean, I was. When I first heard this song, I was like, man, Robin really has a type, doesn't he? And that's okay. I have types too. But, man, you got your Bowie in there. You got your Mark Bolin.

[Robin Hilton]

Oh, I was gonna say T. Rex.

[Lars Gottridge]

Yeah, yeah, for sure. It's little Beatles style chord progressions happening there too. When I reach for the sound, I admittedly go to the classics. I don't usually seek out new people making this kind of music. I don't. Maybe that's. I don't know.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, that's dumb.

[Lars Gottridge]

I know, I know.

[Robin Hilton]

But I mean, Bob Boylan telling me one time, he's like, I don't. What do I. I've got Led Zeppelin. What do I need riff rock for?

[Lars Gottridge]

I have like, some things like that, you know, so it's kind of like I always enjoy hearing a band rip off the Ramones, you know?

[Robin Hilton]

Oh, you do?

[Lars Gottridge]

Okay, so, like, if I hear a band that sounds like The Ramones, and they do a good job. I'm like, hell, yeah. Give me ten more of these. But sometimes with other things, like Bowie, it's like I only want to hear Bowie do it, and that's just me. But again, I will say this is very accomplished. I love the way this song is arranged and is put together. It is very well sung and performed. You know, I'm into it. I'm not saying I'm against it.

[Robin Hilton]

Well, yeah, I was trying to read you while you were listening to it, and I couldn't quite tell if you were into it or if you were kind of rolling your eyes or what this was. But, yeah, this was produced by John Congleton, who I love. He is sort of the secret weapon of many projects that I love.

[Lars Gottridge]

Right.

[Robin Hilton]

Again, the band is called Freako F R I K O. The song Seven Degrees from the album Something Worth Waiting for, and it is out on April 24th.

[Lars Gottridge]

So I've got a duo as well, Robin, and I'm really excited about them. They're a sister duo called Sybil, and I think we should just. Just listen to the song and then come back.

[Robin Hilton]

Do you want to at least say what it's called?

[Lars Gottridge]

I guess you don't have to.

[Robin Hilton]

You want that to be surprised, too, and just.

[Lars Gottridge]

No. The name of the song is called.

[Robin Hilton]

Witch Wife, and that's W I T C H Wife. Witch Wife.

[Singer or Vocalist]

Ham. She is neither pink nor pink and she will never be all mine oh, oh, oh, oh she. She lured her hands in a fairy tale and her mouth on a valentine. She has more hair than she needs in the sun Tis a woe to me and her voices is a string of colored beads or steps leading into the sea. She loves me all that she can and her ways to my ways resign but she was not made for any man and she never will be all minutes.

[Robin Hilton]

So witchy and ancient sounding. I love this. What is this?

[Lars Gottridge]

This is Chloe and Lily Holgate. They named their group Sybil, after this group of women in ancient Greece that kind of would tell the future. And what little I know about them. They grew up in a very musical household. Their parents worked on Broadway, and I think one of the members is often playing viola in the pit of Broadway musicals. I came across this so it was just so haunted by its deceptive simplicity. It's just viola. Everything is so intertwined.

[Robin Hilton]

Do you know what unnotated music is?

[Lars Gottridge]

I mean, I can figure it out just by.

[Singer or Vocalist]

Yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

I mean, it's music that's very often. It's handed down over generations. It's not written down, but you learn it from the people who came before you. It's very informal. It kind of sounds like that to me, particularly in those sort of aleatoric vocal clusters that they have, the way they kind of play off of each other. It helps give it that very ancient feel.

[Lars Gottridge]

There are a couple of traditionals, but everything else is composed by them. Some of them are their own lyrics, but there's a lot of musical readings of poetry, so there'll be like Emily Dickinson. And in this case for this song, witch Wife, a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay.

[Robin Hilton]

This is the second time this year already that we've had music with lyrics by a poet. You mentioned Emily Dickinson. Tom Huizenga was on the show last month at the top of January, and he played a piece that had lyrics by Emily Dickinson. It was a piece performed by Joyce Didonato in a group called Time for Three.

[Lars Gottridge]

I mean, I am really looking forward to spending more time with this record. It comes out in February. It comes out at the end of this month. And what little I've heard of it so far is just as beautiful and haunting and complex as the song that I just played.

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[Robin Hilton]

More that I want to play. And this is also a project that, as of this taping hasn't been announced yet. It is a new album from Asher White. We love Asher White. She put out a top tenner for me last year for a lot of us.

[Lars Gottridge]

Top tenner.

[Robin Hilton]

Oh, for sure. Tips for Full Catastrophe living. Okay, absolutely. A top tenner for me last year. This new album that Asher White has coming is a complete song by song recreation of singer Jessica Pratt's debut album that was self titled the album Jessica Pratt.

[Lars Gottridge]

Oh, I know this album extremely well.

[Robin Hilton]

Okay. I figured both Asher White and Jessica Pratt were up your alley. That album came out in 2012. We also love Jessica Pratt. So turns out Asher White, Asher White Huge Jessica Pratt fan and we can talk more about why she decided to do this project. But again, the album Jessica Pratt recreated by Asher White. The song I want to do from it is called Casper. And if you know the original, this version is pretty different.

[Singer or Vocalist]

You know, I walk the streets of.

[Robin Hilton]

Gold.

[Singer or Vocalist]

And I can't find my babies from it was to. Take me down to my lowest. And you don't mind where I go. Somewhere. And I'm returning Sam. Reach for. Now and I stay down here. When dreams climb up. Take me away. You know I walk the streets are cold and I can't find my baby's mom it was two flutes of. Take me down to my lonely stone. Oh, I am blow something down and I stay down here. When dreams come on. Take me away this time.

[Lars Gottridge]

Man.

[Robin Hilton]

So the original by Jessica Pratt is much quieter and lovelier and acoustic. And Asher White just obliterates it. When those guitars come in, it reminded me a lot of like, Mount Erie. Do you hear that? Like, just these roaring, roaring guitars. And I think that this song has some sort of. Of unspecified or unnamed grief or loss in it. And I love the way that Asher White kind of hones in on whatever that grief is in this and makes it more explicit. Yeah, it makes it sort of just the shattered. It's like a shattered grief. But I'm curious what you think as a die hard Jessica Pratt fan and of the original album, like, what you think hearing someone cover it like this?

[Lars Gottridge]

It's interesting to me because I think you're right. I think it is expressing some unspoken grief in a shattered way. And I like how Asher brings that out because as you said, the original is so quiet and it makes you really focus on the melody and the words that are being sung here. The Mount Airy comparison, I think, is really apt because Phil Elverum, for a long period there, he would take his own songs and he would read all the time. And there was a period, gosh, more than almost two decades ago, where he was doing this thing called Black Wooden. Do you remember this era?

[Robin Hilton]

I do. Yeah, I know what you're talking about.

[Lars Gottridge]

Where he would take his own songs and he would kind of do, like, black metal and hardcore versions of them. And I loved that era of Mount Erie. And so this kind of does that for me. But the way that Asher White sings the songs is interesting to me. Does not take the cage, the cadence does not remind me of Jessica Pratt, which I think is wise, like slow and plodding, but it punctuates the notes when you need to pay attention to what is being sung.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, well, this album, the whole thing is just gonna drop all at once is out on February 4th. The album's called Jessica Pratt because it was a self titled album for Jessica Pratt. A complete couple recreation by Asher White. Lars, you may not realize this, but I actually subscribed to your Vikings Choice newsletter.

[Lars Gottridge]

Oh, thank you.

[Robin Hilton]

And I read it every time you send it out and I always find something interesting in it. You had this one newsletter in January that I thought had a really wonderful idea in it and I thought, oh, I've got to get you on to talk about it. And it was very much tied to the beginning of the year. And I didn't get you on in Time. But I think it's not like it's a no counties now because we've entered February. I think it's still relevant. But it was this idea, and correct me if I'm not summing this up quite right, but this idea of finding a song in January, and I guess you do this every year, a song that sets the tone for the rest of the year. For the whole rest of the year, yeah.

[Lars Gottridge]

And so in years previous, it's been songs by Pigeon Pit and Yasmin Williams and the rock band Luxury. It's very much like a diary entry of like, where are my heads at the beginning of the year? So sometimes it's hopeful, like the Pitch and Pit song Milk Crates, and sometimes it's not.

[Robin Hilton]

Well, do you find that it informs what you end up listening to for the whole year? Like, does it end up kind of signaling what your taste in music will be for the whole year? Do you find that that really holds or.

[Lars Gottridge]

I don't think so. I think it's mostly just to kind of like, reset. But, you know, January, it felt like we lived an entire year in a span of like, however many days.

[Robin Hilton]

31.

[Lars Gottridge]

Actually it was 31. Was it only 31? I could have sworn there was like 35 days of January.

[Robin Hilton]

Honestly, every January, around the third week or so, I start saying to my wife, it's still January, it's still January, because it just is always a long month. But this one did feel. Feel incredibly long.

[Singer or Vocalist]

Yeah.

[Lars Gottridge]

So I have this tradition and there is this one album by a Polish composer named Simon Wojciek. The album's called when youn Rub youb Eyes. You see things you can't describe. And there's a track on it called It's Only Begun. Wojciech is mostly a guitarist. He also composes for lots of other instruments, but he mostly plays guitar as his own instrument, and his tone feels like obsidian. He's playing these discordant notes very slowly, and there's like little skitters of cymbals. A tuba kind of comes in he apparently really likes. I looked this guy up. He really likes the tuba. Not that kind of tuba. And then after about two minutes, an Icelandic vocalist comes in and starts to sing, don't you worry. The arrangement makes it feel like everything is beginning and ending at the same time. Nothing ever bubbles over nothing. Nothing reaches a climax, really. But she returns to this phrase, don't you worry. Sometimes it sounds pleading, sometimes it sounds desperate. And by the end of the song, you get this sense that, that she's come to a piece with it. In my personal life, I'm in a better place about leaning, knowing when I need to be in despair. It's a thing I know about myself. I am drawn to despair and it's something I have to fight within myself. But I accept that as a part of myself.

[Robin Hilton]

I mean, part of the, the trick to being happy in life is understanding that you're not always going to be happy and that despair is part of it. They are always dancing together.

[Lars Gottridge]

Yeah. And so this, this composition does that for me.

[Robin Hilton]

Well, this is a longer one and we are going to go out on it. Everyone should just find a nice quiet place to close their eyes and let this piece take you away because I think it's extraordinary. Bilars Gottrich, thanks as always for a great hang and just sharing all this wonderful music.

[Lars Gottridge]

Thanks for having me, Robin.

[Robin Hilton]

And for NPR Music, I'm Robin Hilton. It's ALL SONGS Considered.

[Singer or Vocalist]

Don't you worry. Don't you stay with kind of worthing. Don't you stay on. Don't you worry. Stay on stay on don't you worry. Sam. It's a new thing. It's a new day It's a new way Since a kind of word things. It's a white smile. It's a white smile. No, dear, Don't you worry. Sa.

[Robin Hilton]

It.

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