Premiere: W.C. Beck takes ‘The Long Way Home’
The Brooklyn folk singer is quickly reminded of his roots on his earthy new tune.
Life is a serendipitous network of flashing lights in our heads which, at first glance, don’t have a particularly significant meaning. Only when we step back to bask in the beautifully sweeping architecture can we tap into a swell of cosmic energy, or more simply, a soothing reminder of our ever-trusty orbit ’round the sun. During his graduate school studies in Paris, Brooklyn’s folk pillar W.C. Beck was hit with a musical happenstance, as one of his all-time favorite country and western tunes came on the radio. He was instantly whipped back to his homestead of Portland and prompted to revel in the halls of memory, and so, he harvested that experienced into a stunner called “The Long Way Home,” which moans with acoustic guitar and the rustic wail of church organ.
“After all this time, there’s still one thing etched in my mind / Just a passing phrase / May you live your days, my child,” he sings, alternating between unquenchable lonesomeness and fondness. He continues to balance on a tightrope that’s been his guiding light as much as a challenging acrobatic routine, “Close to me you sleep, your restless heartbeat / The rhythm of this song for you…”
His winding songwriting spell didn’t stop there. Beck, who has a touring pedigree with such acts as The Decemberists, Bobby Bare Jr. and The Dandy Warhols, among countless others, ripped his heart open and allowed stories and pain to pour forth onto starched paper. “The Long Way Home” is only the beginning of a new chapter, leading to his forthcoming ninth full-length record titled First Flight, produced by Myles Turney (Philip Glass, Boy George) and Joel Arnow (Loudon Wainwright III). Through trembling walls of Americana and indie-folk, dyeing each syllable in new colors of his voice, Beck immerses himself in the craft unlike every before. He’s far more vulnerable these days and willing to draw the listener into the fold of intimacy for art’s sake.
On “The Long Way Home,” premiering today, Beck writes to B-Sides & Badlands over email, “This song was inspired by hearing one of my favorite country songs, ‘A Satisfied Mind’ by Porter Wagoner, play on French radio. I was a million miles from home, but that ‘old country song’ reminded me of where I was from and the mysterious ways that life tends to wink at you when you need a little reminder.”
First Flight drops everywhere June 7.
Listen below:
https://soundcloud.com/wcbeck/the-long-way-home/s-Gkqc3
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