Tanlines just dropped the first track from their upcoming album, The Big Mess, and let me tell you, it’s a beat-driven banger!
‘Outer Banks’ is a reminder of why we fell in love with this band in the first place – they’re just that good. And if that’s not enough to get you stoked, the band even made a video for the song. But here’s the kicker – it’s all about work presentations! Jesse Cohen wanted to use the language of the “deck” (aka PowerPoint) to tell the story of ‘Outer Banks’.
As someone who’s sat through more than my fair share of boring presentations, I gotta say, this video hits different. It’s like Tanlines is giving a big middle finger to the drudgery of office life, and honestly, we’re here for it. Check out ‘Outer Banks’ and the new video, and get ready for the Tanlines hybrid work era!
Tanlines, the indie-rock veterans-turned-middle-aged-dads who have found themselves still existing, and thriving, in 2023 despite a culture and industry that no longer demands their full attention. They embody a certain time and place that’s long gone, yet they persist, adapting and evolving to meet the times.
But there’s a new twist to the Tanlines story: while they’re still a duo of longtime friends and collaborators, they’re also kind of a solo project. Emm and Cohen have pursued different paths in recent years, with Emm moving to rural Connecticut and focusing on writing songs, while Cohen pursued a marketing career and podcasting. But with Cohen’s blessing, Emm carried on with Tanlines, channeling his musical DNA and recording songs in his basement studio.
It wasn’t until January 2022 that Emm felt he had a cohesive body of work that felt right for a Tanlines album, and Merge Records agreed. With Cohen and unofficial third Tanline Patrick Ford joining him for ten days in Connecticut, they created The Big Mess, tying everything together with a final mix from Peter Katis at Tarquin Studios. The album showcases a more introspective and reflective side of Emm, exploring what he calls “introspective masculinity” and questioning the relationship between fathers and sons, and between men in general.
The album cover, a photo taken by Emm’s wife’s grandfather in Greece in 1952, represents two things at once: it’s a bold and emotional image that’s also muted and beige, much like the two sides of Tanlines’ story. As Emm says, “I think of these songs as Rothko paintings: They’re big and they’re bold and they’re seemingly straightforward, but they have a lot of depth and they engage with you and make you feel something.”
In the end, The Big Mess represents not just a new chapter in Tanlines’ story, but a reflection of Emm’s growth as an artist and as a man, and a sign that even in chaotic and uncertain times, there’s always room for evolution and reinvention.
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‘The Big Mess,’ due May 19 via Merge.
