Pursed Modern, by The Dawdler

Pursed Modern

by The Dawdler

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reada This is such a beautiful collection of songs - definitely one of the best releases of 2022 and a triumph over adversity. Like so many great new things I hear, this came to me via Stuart Maconie's Freakzone on 6Music. Thanks for the music John; I'll be checking out more of your releases.

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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Tracing Spirals, Pursed Modern, Sign Of Growth, and Keith In Ballachulish. , and , .

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1.	Josephine 03:21	buy track
2.	Skipping Down The Road 04:08	buy track
3.	Get Zen 02:54	buy track
4.	Cuckoo 03:01	buy track
5.	90s 04:03	buy track

about

‘Pursed Modern’, the new EP from Newcastle upon Tyne musician, The Dawdler, is a homage. “A homage to my former life as an able-bodied person,” says John Edgar, aka The Dawdler, who over the past few years has found his body in gradual yet steady decline and was formally diagnosed as PPMS towards the end of 2021.

“A homage to innocence. To potential. To all the films, books, and music that have accompanied me and given me joy in an otherwise dark, downward spiral over the past few years.”

Working with Phoria’s Trewin Howard on production, The Dawdler set out to achieve a darker and deeper sound than that found on the potent 2020 Ep 'Sign Of Growth'. Still present, however, is his powerful gift for melody and flashes of very British humour. “Trewin is an extremely talented and imaginative producer who I was very excited to work with. I’m in awe of what he’s been able to get out of these songs,” John elaborates.

Opener, 'Josephine' is a blissful and triumphant waltz.
A love song written as an imaginary sequel to a classic 1950s romantic comedy movie.

‘Skipping Down The Road’ offers glacial synths and strings the size of monoliths, assembling a structure for John and frequent collaborator Ceitidh Mac to harmonise. The song’s musical dramatic weight is worthy of the track’s lyrical theme – the song is about the moments before a city is destroyed by an air raid. The vocals float yet punch as full frequency slabs of sound ache below and suddenly burst into static.

Elsewhere ‘Get Zen’ is “a friendly fuck you” to the wellness, quick fix, lifestyle profiteering know-it-alls. “You can stick your turmeric capsules, keto diet, cold showers, and yoga. I’m fucked. Give me a drink and a smoke. I know I’m being unfair and bombastic, but hey, I’m upset.”

‘Cuckoo’ [a revamp of an old Dawdler tune] is an ambient romantic ballad about the increasingly fine line between human and machine.

The EP closes out with ‘90s’, an epic, cinematic piece that finds Edgar yearning for a time when everything wasn’t falling apart. “How terrifying it is when you begin to crumble away,” John concludes.

However, it doesn’t matter one jot to The Dawdler what the songs mean to him. It’s finished and being released into the wider world against odds now stacked firmly against him. A deep fan of the work of David Lynch, he concurs with Lynch’s ethos -

"it’s up to the listeners to create their own meanings to the music. If someone digs it, that’s wonderful.”

credits

released August 26, 2022

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about

The Dawdler Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK

Melancholia from the North...  
John Edgar. Music maker. Disabled (PPMS). Newcastle upon Tyne. Cheery individual.  
Likes: Music. Cricket. Telly. Dogs. Oatcakes. Hummus. Murder mysteries. Cherry tomatoes. Lager. Weed.  
Dislikes: Cruelty to animals. Heights. Snakes. Aeroplanes. ... more

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