Terror Pigeon – “Dharma & Greged” (Stereogum Premiere)

Terror Pigeon - "Dharma & Greged" (Stereogum Premiere)

Terror Pigeon – “Dharma & Greged” (Stereogum Premiere)

Terror Pigeon - "Dharma & Greged" (Stereogum Premiere)

Terror Pigeon recently released their second full-length Live It Up Before You Die It Up!, a fantastic record full of exhilarating and exuberant songs that took four years to put together. At only ten tracks, the album is frustratingly short but feels complete: every song is essential and all of them feel like they’re part of a coherent piece, but it’s hard not to wonder what was left on the cutting room floor. Four years is a long while and Neil Fridd wrote a whole lot of songs in that time. Well, we don’t have to wonder any longer: the band will release a b-sides companion album to Live It Up Before You Die It Up! called Yucksongs! 2014:( at the beginning of next year. The first track from that collection is “Dharma & Greged,” a song that matches up with the very best of their sophomore release. The same soaring choruses and skittering, soulful beats that sparkled on their past two albums are present here. The lyrics, as always, are poignant and pointed: “When will I not be the dude who’s always the dude messing everything up? And if you can’t return my calls then honestly what could I be to you?” Fridd — never one to hog the spotlight — has Nathan Vanderpool and Malee Bringardner take over on vocals for the track and only pops up towards the end. The boy-girl interplay has always been one of my favorite aspects to these Terror Pigeon: often love songs feel very one-sided, but these allow for shifting perspectives, which is especially important on “Dharma & Greged,” a track all about how things don’t always work out in the end. The track is undeniably great, and there’s nothing b-side about it. Listen below.

Yucksongs! 2014:( is out 1/5 in Europe via In Stereo/Fierce Panda and 1/6 everywhere else via Stay Magical.

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