Little Scream
hits a groove on latest single
“Still Life”
New album, Speed Queen
out October 25th
on Merge Records
Speed Queen is the title of Little Scream’s new album, set to arrive on October 25 on Merge Records. It’s a record that Little Scream (a.k.a. Laurel Sprengelmeyer) says is about observing the slow entropy of the US, ruminating on her own low-income upbringing in a flyover state, and, as she says, “taking it all in from the privileged position of being a new Canadian.”
Today, Little Scream shares a slice of escapism from the record, the gently grooving “Still Life”, which paints a picture of “complicated chaos” and “a sophisticated daydream.”
Little Scream on the song and finding personal catharsis:“Much of my new record Speed Queen touches on class, poverty, and politics. But there are a few exceptions, and all of these exceptions have one thing in common—they all reference painting. I guess painting is my “happy place,” and the thing that gave me a break from the other heavy subject matter. ‘Still Life’ is a song that grew out of a fragment Mike Feuerstack had started and shared with me. I had just been discussing that Manet painting Un bar aux Folies Bergère, and I finished writing the song with the unrequited longing that painting has always inspired in me.
“Still Life” follows Speed Queen’s first single “Dear Leader” and its powerful, star-studded lyric video featuring cameos from The National, Arcade Fire, Superchunk, Holly Miranda, Leif Vollebekk, Mélissa Laveaux, and more. Watch the video HERE.
On her third album, Speed Queen, Little Scream began as bits of prose written while touring her last album across North America. The title, which alludes to the opiate crisis, actually refers to a washing machine. Little Scream says, “When you’re struggling, nothing says you’ve made it more than getting your own washing machine. Speed Queen is about the dream of making it, and feeling desperately close but missing it.”
Since the release of Cult Following in 2016, Little Scream has stayed busy as a member ofRichard Reed Parry’s Quiet River of Dust, touring with and co-writing songs from the albums Vol. 1: This Side of the River and Vol. 2: That Side of the River. A natural collaborator, she has appeared as a vocalist and/or guitarist on recordings for The National, The Barr Brothers, Will Butler, and Saltland, among others. She has appeared on two Red Hot compilations as well as charity singles to benefit the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and Standing Rock.
Speed Queen is available to pre-order today.
SPEED QUEEN TRACKLIST
01 Dear Leader
02 One Lost Time
03 Switchblade
04 Disco Ball
05 Still Life
06 Forces Of Spring
07 No More Saturday Night
08 Speed Queen
09 Don’t Wait For It
10 Privileged Child
Follow Little Scream at Instagram
No Comments