Connecticut art-rock quartet The Pretty Graves dig into their early recordings with “Bluebird,” the first taste of their forthcoming collection, Tapes & Demos.
Connecticut indie rock band The Pretty Graves have released “Bluebird,” the lead single from Tapes & Demos, a collection of unreleased material arriving October 30 through L'Appel Du Vide Des Disques and Telegraph Autonomous Zone.
The 10-track release follows the band’s self-titled debut, which arrived in May, but much of its material actually predates that album. Tapes & Demos gathers B-sides, unfinished demos and songs that became familiar parts of The Pretty Graves’ early live shows without receiving official releases.
“Bluebird” makes a particularly lively introduction to the collection. Jangly guitars and reverberating organ give the track a distinct ’60s flavor, while the band’s familiar fuzz and loose rock and roll energy keep it connected to their debut.
Frontman Christopher M. Listorti drew the song from an unlikely recurring visitor: a bluebird that lived outside his porch. Seeing the bird became intertwined with a difficult period in his life, with its traditional associations with happiness, hope and stability taking on a more personal meaning.
That kind of small-scale storytelling runs throughout Tapes & Demos. “Sorry I Left The Way I Did,” which will serve as the collection’s focus track, was inspired by Listorti leaving his cockatoo Elliott with his parents when he moved away and eventually returning to find the bird still remembered him.
Other tracks stretch into different corners of The Pretty Graves’ sound, from the slow-building “Withered Away” to the psychedelic “She’s A Killer” and heavier “Return To Love.” An early demo of debut standout “Up on a Hill” also provides a direct link to the band’s first album.
Recorded largely to reel-to-reel tape in various locations, the collection captures The Pretty Graves before their debut had fully defined their sound. Rather than leaving those recordings behind, Tapes & Demos turns that unfinished business into a snapshot of a band still figuring out exactly what it could become.
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