Stereogum
“Clocking in just under the two minute marker, “Chasing Catherine” is a succinct snippet of tenderness from Bent Denim that shows that sometimes less is most certainly more if you’re looking to make an impact.”
The Line of Best Fit
“It doesn’t get more real or honest than this.”
Noisey
“As with all of the band’s finest work, the whole thing is haloed with a sonic sense of adventure that lends the track a glowing earnestness that feels wildly compelling.”
GoldFlakePaint
In Littlejohn’s own words; “The song is a riff on the theme of losing your childlike sense of wonder. Growing up and realizing that you kinda fit yourself into a box and using things to dull the emotions that come out because of that. I’m sure most people at some point at had long hair and zits.
“The song started with that ethereal ’80s synth and it grew from there. I put a lot of things through a vintage Shure level loc compressor that i found at the Nashville flea market. It’s an esoteric piece of studio gear that has achieved cult status for f*cking up sounds in a very musical and positive way.
“I was also able to use my family’s old upright player piano at the very end of the song – it allegedly came out of a saloon. It has an almost tack piano quality and is super nostalgic for me because its the piano I grew up messing around on and playing Beatles songs from old player rolls.”
Living in separate towns in separate states – Nashville and New Orleans – the pair are often compared to The Postal Service for both their parallels sonically and also the similarity of their song-writing methods; sending demoes back and forth via email and each working on their music individually. The NyQuil Pop band are also often spoken of in the same breath as their brothers in slow-core, Hovvdy (who are, coincidentally, their friends and collaborators outside of Bent Denim, with Ben having mastered the band’s critically acclaimed debut album ‘Taster’ and played bass on their most recent album ‘Cranberry’).
The duo make glitchy, lush, Americana and emo-flecked dream-indie for the defeated – the kind that envelopes you whole and talks to you like an old friend. Biographical stories of lost love and longing, Town and Country is their most visceral and raw record to date. Out on 11th May, the album is a totally insular work, having been completely written, recorded and produced in the respective bedrooms of the duo. Its beauty lies in the fact that it is so plainly introspective and yet collaborative.
