Someone within Katzin's promotional apparatus described his sound as "Orchid Tapes inflected heartland rock," which certainly turned my head, as someone who spent the 2010s gleefully marinating in indie blogs. The New York artist born Zion Battle will release his debut album Buckaroo on Mexican Summer next month. He's already shared two singles, "Anna" and "Wild Horses," and today he adds a third.
"Nantucket" does indeed bring a rootsy rock aesthetic into the realm of bleary Bandcamp-native indie. There's no lo-fi fog here, though, just a pristine barrage of guitars and pedal steel buoying Battle as he repeats, with a sort of emo-rap texture in his voice, "She's from Nantucket!" A word from Battle about the track:
"Nantucket" is about a comedown, sobering up, perhaps washing up on a familiar shore. Several coastlines are implied in the lyrics, both east and west. It’s also about Meghan Trainor because she’s obviously the only girl who's really from Nantucket. It's all about that bass, no treble.
This is not quite the Sam Ray/Adam Granduciel collision I imagined, but I like it — and the prior singles are even better. Watch the "Nantucket" video below, where you can also catch up on "Anna" and "Wild Horses."
Buckaroo is out 2/13 on Mexican Summer.
