New Zealand indie pop group Yumi Zouma has been gearing up for the release of EP III, the final installment of their ongoing EP trilogy, due out September 28 on Cascine. Today, the four-piece shares the latest single from that project, the sweetly-titled "Crush (It's Late, Just Stay)." But the title and the upbeat disco that lights up the track belies the more crushing realization that vocalists Christie Simpson and Josh Burgess are trading verses trying to convince the other to stay, but are somehow unable to get on the same page. I would be more sad at how realistic it all plays out if it weren't for the glowy guitar licks and the shuffling beat that makes me wanna dance.
Burgess, explaining how the song came together and eulogizing a now-lost New York recording studio, writes via email:
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"This song began as an experiment recording with a fellow Kiwi (Liam Finn) at his studio in 2015. The studio was aptly named The End as it was situated at the very end of Greenpoint Avenue overlooking Transmitter Park which was arguably one of the best views of Manhattan at the time. The End hosted a few different studios, including Jacob Portrait's (Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Blouse) who mixed 'In Camera' as well as rehearsal spaces (I once walked in on The Congo's rehearsing!). We smoked on the roof and had a bash at making a song together, which is what we sampled in the verses of 'Crush'. The working title was 'First Class Lounge' because it sounded like some kind of musak that would be playing as background before rich people boarded a Concord.
Unfortunately, The End had a sad finale courtesy of a fire that ripped through the building. Thankfully no one was hurt, but a lot of the gear was wrecked. My girlfriend lives a couple blocks away and over morning coffees we'll often stroll through Transmitter looking up at the shell of the studio. Like most things in New York it's relegated to a memory now, but a lot of great music came out of that building!"
Upcoming Tour Dates:
10/4 - Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere *
10/5 - San Francisco, CA @ Swedish American Hall
10/6 - Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon
* Cascine Label Night
Thumbnail credit to Ryan McCardle, Aidan Koch.
