Planning For Burial, the one-man experimental project from Wilkes-Barre musician Thom Wasluck, has been going for 20 years now. Last year, Wasluck spearheaded the release of the Flenser's Low tribute album Your Voice Is Not Enough, and he contributed his own cover of the Low song "Murderer." Now, Wasluck is getting ready to release It’s Closeness, It’s Easy, the first proper Planning For Burial album since 2017's Below The House. We've posted the early singles "A Flowing Field Of Green" and "You Think." The album is coming this week, and Wasluck has shared one more song. It's called "(blueberry pop)" -- stylistic decisions all his.
"(blueberry pop)" doesn't sound much like metal or like pop. It also doesn't sound like blueberries, which at least in my experience are mostly soundless. (I guess they make little squinching sounds when you chew on them? It doesn't sound like that.) Instead, "(blueberry pop)" is an eerie, droning instrumental that seems to be mostly cello and organ. Here's what Thom Wasluck says about the track:
For the last single before the release, I wanted to show the sonic alternate side of the album compared to the last two singles. "(blueberry pop)" was originally made for the purpose of being a set ender, a moment to catch my breath while coming down from the sheer wall of volume for the 25-35 minutes prior. Later, I figured it would also act a closing for the album around the same principles, but as I played with the sequencing in my head that quickly changed to it being bumped up early in the album as part of the first musical suite.
The video serves the same purpose as the original song idea, shot at the end of a long cold windy work day in mid-December. Staring off at a physical manifestation of the wind, clearing out your mind, taking your surroundings in.
Wasluck shot his own "(blueberry pop)" video, and you can see it below.
It’s Closeness, It’s Easy is out 5/30 on the Flenser.
