The Inarguable Exclusive: New Black Mare Track "Isa" Streaming Now

The past few days have been a blur of grey skies, rain, snow, and all around misery. A hint of sunlight here or there, but otherwise I've felt like life has been more of a static viewfinder shot than anything dynamic or wonderful. How do I cope? If it were a few years ago, I'd say "I listen to lots of extreme metal! It's fast and helps me pass the time!," but recently, I don't know, I've been feeling old I guess. Now I prefer the company of something which fits my surroundings - morose, blurred, and, above all, emotive. Musician and singer Sera Timms has been a part of my music library for some time now, namely with Black Math Horsemen, current darlings Ides of Gemini, and, more recently, Zun (a collaboration with Yawning Man's Gary Arce and Bill Stinton).

However, and I wasn't expecting this, Timms has been slowly working on material for her own project, Black Mare (a reference to the Horsemen?). Her debut solo effort, the beautiful Field of the Host, is a dreamy, floating display of delicate, spacey guitar work, plodding rhythms, and Timms's powerful, albeit restrained voice. Penultimate track, and my personal favorite, "Isa" is a sort of culmination of the themes and atmospheres found throughout this album, brought forth in a darkwave-y, folky, gloomy tour de force. Perhaps the album's most "doomlike" offering, "Isa"'s soaring choruses part the thick layer of clouds with brilliant beams of hazy sunlight. Incredible, intimate, and ethereal.



From the label:

"At once intimate and otherworldly, Black Mare invokes the aural and visual magic of Sera Timms to create the dreamlike atmosphere present throughout Field of the Host. With a special emphasis on artwork, this album fully immerses the listener in that world. Though dark, and often haunting, there's a powerful sense of hope and wonder here, a light that breaks through the heavy fog - whether that light means waking from the dream or diving deeper into it is up to you." -Omeed/The Crossing

Field of the Host will be available on vinyl and cassette from The Crossing and Breathe Plastic Records, respectively, on March 20th. A special album release party and listening session is being held at Vacation Vinyl tonight, March 15th, for those of you who can make it. I highly encourage it.

-Jon