The Tell, a genre-bending new project from indie singer-songwriter Noah Dickie of Las Vegas duo Coastwest Unrest and LA-based composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist James McAlister (Sufjan Stevens, The National, Taylor Swift) have released their debut collaborative album Somewhere Right Now on Reclaim Records. The album spans 8 spellbinding tracks that explore the hidden, dark corners of emotions, dealing with desire, lust, love, loss and more. Somewhere Right Now features the previously released tracks “Clap Clap”, “Burning” featuring Tyler Chester of Andrew Bird's band on bass, and “KT” which debuted on Glide Magazine.
Glide described The Tell’s sound as “airy indie pop...brought to life by a simple beat, dreamy synths, acoustic strumming and a drum machine providing the backbone, [capturing] the talent of this duo in crafting infectious and thoughtful music.”
Already, The Tell have received some great early praise in the blogosphere for their fresh, evolved new sound, with comparisons to The Hold Steady and The National (BuffaBlog). They’ve also been cited as “trippy and upbeat" (The Joy of Violent Movement) with “some great unique elements that makes [The Tell] stand out all on its own.” (From The Strait)
The Tell is a long overdue venture for Noah and James, who have been friends for quite some time but have been working on various projects throughout the ages. Originally starting on this collection of tracks in 2018, this year seemed prime to complete the record together and share it with the world. Noah brought the songs and the collaboration bloomed from there. They recorded a majority of Somewhere Right Now by themselves between their respective home studios - Noah in Henderson, NV and James in Eagle Rock, CA, adding producer Luke Vander Pol for two tracks on the record via his home studio in Burbank, CA.
Noah and James decided to name themselves The Tell as a double entendre, that includes the behavior of a poker player (the antithesis of a poker face) and the sonic narrative of their musical work, an aural journey from borderline despair to well-being, using music – and its creation -- to try to heal psychic and physical wounds. The music combines Dickie’s narrative song craft and folk roots with McAlister’s sprawling, buzzing soundscapes, wrapping the former in a fully realized interior world that inadvertently reflects the pandemic everyone has had to face over the past year.
While Somewhere Right Now was started before the lockdown, one can’t help but feel its effects in the claustrophobic, insular minor key synth-scapes, which evoke much of that isolation and alienation, tinged with hope for better things to come. Songs like “Burning” and the semi-autobiographical “Love Blood, California” offer themes of lust, regret and a deeper layer of adventure, while the jaunty, playful “KT” (“Let’s go to the ocean/And sink in the water”) explores the desire for escape and freedom. “Nothing Missing” suggests we look inward rather than at external objects for our happiness, and the closing “Outgrown” is about shedding one’s skin, moving forward, and ultimately, growth.
Somewhere Right Now is packed with multi-layered themes, and evokes the awe of the human condition and a shift in perspective to appreciate the beauty and magnitude of this world and our place in it. Consider it the perfect antidote for these times, as we stumble out of the darkness into the light at the end of a long tunnel. Somewhere Right Now celebrates the beauty and magic of the creative gesture, a supreme organizing principle in a world threatening to come undone.
Stay tuned for more updates by connecting with The Tell on Instagram and Facebook as @TheTellMusic.
TRACK LISTING:
1. Clap Clap
2. Burning
3. Somewhere Right Now
4. KT
5. Love Blood, California
6. Nothing Missing
7. Thoughts and Everything
8. Outgrown
