I try to keep things a little cryptic because usually I’m not trying to express something in a direct, didactic sense where it’s like “This is the point. ZAC LITTLE: I write deliberately ambiguously. STEREOGUM: The track we’re premiering, “River,” interpolates the old hymn “Be Thou My Vision.” How does that fit into the song’s subject matter? Such humongous music is a vessel for even bigger ideas, as you’ll see when you read my conversation with Little below. It’s driven by relentless pounding, a snaky guitar line, and Saintseneca’s signature howling harmonies. O’Conke’s presence is definitely felt on “River,” the second Such Things track to be revealed. But Saintseneca managed to churn out Such Things little more than a year after Dark Arc, and they’ll head out on tour to promote it this October - in rock clubs, with drummer Matt O’Conke (also of Tin Armor) now a full-fledged member. On top of all that metamorphosis, two members of Saintseneca’s latest incarnation front rising rock bands of their own, Maryn Jones (All Dogs) and Steve Ciolek (the Sidekicks), which makes logistics increasingly tricky. (I saw them play under a bridge by the Olentangy River once it was rad.) The band’s situation has changed a lot since then: complete lineup turnover, countless DIY tours, and, as of last year’s sophomore LP Dark Arc, a record deal with storied punk label Epitaph’s adventurous ANTI- subsidiary. Back in those days the folk-punk group’s percussion largely consisted of foot stomps and pounding on a plastic trash can, and they performed mostly in basements, living rooms, and other informal locations. Little is the only remaining member of Saintseneca from eight years ago, back when he and two friends from Ohio’s Appalachian southeast enrolled at Ohio State, recruited a violist, and immediately made their presence felt in Columbus. Liungman’s Dictionary Of Symbols rests across from us on the coffee table. Little offers me some cold-brew coffee, and we sit down on his couch in the next room to discuss Such Things, Saintseneca’s heady and hearty new album. A bear’s head is mounted on the wall London Calling is streaming off a laptop. Or maybe Civil War-era blacksmith is more appropriate given that when I enter Little’s half-double just north of Ohio State University, he’s situated at a work bench soldering some of the handmade jewelry he sells under the name Hero King Embellishments. 7th Street EntryĢ2 – San Francisco, Calif.The Zac Little who answers the door is the same Zac Little from Saintseneca’s band photos - his wiry frame clad in black head-to-toe from boots to vest to collar, his red facial hair gone full Civil War general. Hollar on the Hill Festivalġ5 – Minneapolis, Minn. Worth, Texas Main at South SideĢ3 – Indianapolis, Ind. You can preorder the album here.ģ1 – Columbus, Ohio Wexner Center for the ArtsĠ9 – Washington, D.C. Find the album’s tracklist and the band’s tour dates further down. Listen to Saintseneca’s “Frostbiter” below, along with a 2012 performance from the Paste archives. “To reach way back, echoing ancient folk melodies, tie that into punk rock, and then push it into the future.” “I wanted to use the idiom of folk-rock, or whatever you want to call it, and to try to do something that had never been done before,” Little explains. “I think of this song as a big tree trunk in the woods where people carve their messages-initials, jokes, ‘I love you’ hearts … It is a work of accumulation,” Saintseneca singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Zac Little said of “Frostbiter.”Īt the end, a static-y recording clips in and a voice can be heard saying, “sad happy day.” The passage of time is expressed in the statement, “that’s only three months that’s no time at all.” Little said he aimed to incorporate elements he didn’t often hear in folk music, and this clip may be one of those efforts. This looking back or remembering appears in the lead single from Pillar of Na, “Frostbiter,” which brings up an assortment of memories, including the death of a grandfather and a childhood friendship. The name references the Biblical story of Lot whose wife looks back at the burning city of Sodom and turns into a pillar of salt (the chemical symbol for sodium is Na) for her disobedience to God. The album’s title channels the idea of memories, a theme that courses throughout the record. Along with the album announcement comes news of the band’s first headlining tour in three years, which will kick off at the end of August and run until the end of October. Saintseneca have announced that their forthcoming record Pillar of Na will be out on ANTI- Records on Aug.
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