You may know Vermont roots imploder Matt Valentine from his work with MV & EE or the earlier, awesomely ramshackle Tower Recordings. But it’s his name alone on the front of this new 7-song collection, What I Became, out in June via Woodsist. Take a listen to the ambling, acoustic-stitched “Stay” then read old favorite Byron Coley’s entertaining PR copy and pretend you’re lost in an old issue of Forced Exposure.

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Prolific deepwoods Vermonters Matt Valentine (who played in the excellently ramshackle Tower Recordings) and Erika Elder are back with Drone Trailer. They’re not shy about releasing recordings (together and apart), but the offerings often show up in limited runs or on smaller labels. The forthcoming six-song collection Drone, though, is out 1/20 via the (slightly) easier to locate DiCristina. On it, the duo’s backed by three-dude strong Golden Road, as you ought to be able to deduce after listening to the dense, full-band psych of cathartic opener “Anyway.” Since we had his ear, we asked Valentine to unpack the lyrics. While you listen, let us know if his analysis helps.

We also offered the chance to win Diesel Jeans courtesy of Eagles Of Death Metal.

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Prolific deepwoods Vermonters Matt Valentine (who played in the excellently ramshackle Tower Recordings) and Erika Elder are back with Drone Trailer. They’re not shy about releasing recordings (together and apart), but the collections often show up in limited runs or on smaller labels. The forthcoming six-song collection Drone is out via the (slightly) easier to locate DiCristina. On it, the duo’s backed by three-dude strong Golden Road, as you should be able to deduce after listening to the dense, full-band psych of cathartic opener “Anyway.” We asked Valentine to unpack the lyrics. Let us know if it helps.

What inspired “Anyway”‘s “anyway I can” theme?
Y’know “space” was once the end all for the conqueroo … Now that scene is a mere blip on the sonar of Spit James. We hinted at it sometime back with our “Meditations On Payday,” that rub was as much Mississippi John Hurt as it was Rip Torn. Now we gotta go beyond nomenclature into some sorta ‘”any” “way” — the “many are one” philosophy, you’d be as grateful as we if your “many” were a true singular “one,” or one within a pair. It all gets in there anyway.

And, what was the spaceman’s master plan?
The spaceman could be Bill Lee. In his “space” the main aim to the end of the game is not allow anyone “on” base. That’s the key, like salts to alchemists and the Masonic depth to baseball, turning “on” has always been where it is at. Tesla, the energy monopolies … dig the idea of standing tall, as in the indian chief, or the inverse of laying low. You “can’t stand” can be many rooms, mebbe the Velvets said it best …”I Can’t Stand It Anymore.” Dig their castle, we are just a mere moat in this thing, swimming as best we can. This song is about a river and a life raft.

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Drone Trailer is out 1/20 on DiCristina.