I did know that I wanted ‘idkwntht’ to be last on the record. When I started sequencing the record, it was kind of thematical, the flow of the storyline, but there isn’t really a direct thread. Is there a thread from one song to the next? But it’s in a different context, and you get into a bit more autobiographical detail lyrically. I love the sequencing of the record in general, and this song ties beautifully into ‘easy’, exploring the theme of not being seen for who you are and trying to be loved. It’s like a tunnel, you’re kind of twisting and turning and you can’t quite see. It’s a simple element in a way, but it draws you in. I feel like a lot of Radiohead songs are similar in the way that they use electronics for building depth and space. Phil Weinrobe, who produced the record with me, we kind of built a language in the studio the two weeks that we were there, and he just honed in really quickly on the vibe that I was going for. I mean, it came about pretty easily, like, the shift from bringing it from just an acoustic guitar song to that. I think we started and finished that song in a day, most of the live tracking. Sonically, I wanted it to be a bit eerie.

I knew that I kind of wanted it to be more electronic-leaning and we were messing around with the Juno – that’s the main synth for that. This song specifically, I was like, “I don’t want this to be a guitar song.” I felt like it needed more depth that the synth could bring. All the songs I wrote on guitar on my own and then when we brought them to the studio. Was that the intention behind it?ĭefinitely. It immediately introduces the conflict of the song, this sense of uneasiness about being misunderstood. The synth here is kind of an imposing way to start the album. Listen to the album and read our track-by-track interview below. We caught up with Tomberlin to talk about the story behind every song on her new album, i don’t know who needs to hear this…. It’s a record built with the greatest trust, care, and patience, one whose resonance echoes through and beyond the tentative hope of its title. “Remind me that I don’t have to be anything.” It’s one of the many revelations that come naturally on idkwntht, but it’s not a disheartening one. Sometimes, even she’s surprised by the role she’s cast herself in: “I’m not a singer, I’m just someone who’s guilty,” she sings on ‘tap’. Filled with impeccable, subtly moving arrangements, the album expands her palette just enough for us to follow her stream of thoughts as she untangles them, like turning conversations into movie scenes and then replaying them in your mind. She wrestles with feelings of isolation and anxiety but finds comfort in the solitude of nature, paying close attention to what her surroundings have to offer without seeking easy answers.Īfter refining her sound on 2020’s Projections EP, she returns today with her sophomore album, i don’t know who needs to hear this…, which was recorded live at Brooklyn’s Figure 8 studio and co-produced with Phil Weinrobe, who’s worked on the solo records of Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek. She’s able to tap into a feeling almost like an outside observer, watching as it grows and fades and falls back into view, and her music invites you to sit still and take stock of the things that can slip through the cracks in a fast-moving, relentlessly unpredictable world. Since releasing her striking 2018 debut At Weddings, the singer-songwriter has been making songs as vulnerable as they are intentional and as gentle as they are layered. There’s something spellbinding about the way that Tomerlin’s music opens up a space for whatever passes through it, no matter how big or small, and makes it feel sacred.

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