Over the course of four records dating back to 2013’s self-titled release, San Fermin have honed their densely layered chamber pop sound to match the weighted-blanket feel of Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver’s output around that time. Which made it all the more surprising when they recently announced their fifth LP titled Arms that—in spite of remaining an octet—all of that would be stripped away to reveal an unguarded lyricism accompanied by a fairly minimalist instrumental, as heard on the record’s lead single and title track which documents the full life span of a relationship.
Today the band are following that track up with another single that mines similar lyrical territory while the instrumental shifts into a still-comfortable yet more conventionally alt-country route as co-vocalist Claire Wellin focuses on the cyclical nature of relationships. “I liked the idea of someone’s particular brand of love being misanthropic, kind of a misfit,” band leader Ellis Ludwig-Leone explains. “Always taking rather than giving, always leaving rather than showing up. And then the vicious cycle that accompanies that: If your love is selfish, your only companion ends up being loneliness, which becomes a kind of armor protecting you from ever getting too close. If you never let down the armor, you’re safe, but it ultimately leaves you cold.”
Check out the visualizer for the track below, or stream it here. Arms will arrive in full on February 16 via Better Company Records.
