Brooklyn-based indie rock band, The Next Great American Novelist (aka NGAN), have shared their new single, “Drag,” from their forthcoming, sophomore record, Careless Moon.
Written before the pandemic and a better-late-than never Civil Rights revolution took the main stage of society, new single, “Drag,” works to show that there was never a comfortable or correct “normal” in life when times were “precedented” or fully working for everyone. Songwriter Sean Cahill explains the new single, saying:
“I love New York City, though, some days it feels like a dysfunctional landscape of ill-routine. Living here, you realize you’re functionally necessary but of small significance or importance within the larger enterprise. I’m immersed in a series of habits: standing in line, getting on a train, heading to work, buying coffee, buying booze… Are these choices I want to make or am I just keeping the machine going?”
Cahill explains more on the song, saying, “It came from a memory of being a child, standing in front of a massive blackberry vine and reaching through its thorns to get the fruit. As pretentious as our band name may make us seem, we keep the lyrics pretty simple in telling a story. The upbeat pacing and dynamics were a good way to open the record. When we were in the studio, we became enchanted with playing the mellotron and found every excuse to use it. We played with atmospheric sounds to float into a psychedelic range. Sometimes all it takes is a delay pedal to tap into feelings of nostalgia and give the impression of a memory.”
Speaking more on the forthcoming release, Cahill says, “Careless Moon is about the relationship between romance and indifference. How it’s possible to see different concepts in the same symbol. One night, you could look at the moon and see an illuminating presence, brimming with light, offering clarity to a sky that is otherwise shrouded in darkness. The ridges of its surface appear as something familiar, a face, looking down and bringing you comfort. Other nights the moon can seem callous: an indifferent rock suspended unwillingly by gravity. You remember that the moon drifts from the earth by 3.8 cm each year, orbiting away from you as it barrels out into space. Your life changes but the moon doesn’t, each night you can find it waiting for you. When you realize that it has no attachment to you, it is frightening.”