Winter’s crisp tranquility and slowed pace sets the stage for the first of three EPs from Minneapolis’ We Are The Willows on NYC-based label Youngbloods. The first volume Now That I’m Older explores the relationship between depression and validation, all scored by the romance between whirling orchestration and brilliant prismitized vocal production. The second two are due spring and summer 2023 respectively.
We Are The Willows is the art-pop project of Minneapolis based singer/songwriter Peter M. His unique countertenor voice is often supported by Jeremiah Satterthwaite on guitar, Travis Collins on bass and backup vocals, Hillary James on cello and backup vocals, and Josh McCay on drums. Active since 2014 and most notably recognized for their 2017 two part, twenty song concept album Picture (Portrait) (based on letters written between his grandparents during World War II), Peter M’s outfit has garnered praise from NPR, BBC, Noisey, Paste Magazine, Buzzfeed, and Brooklyn Vegan. Over eight years, We Are The Willows has supported and shared the stage with acts including Blitzen Trapper, S. Carey, Phox, and Matt Pond PA across showcases at SXSW, Treefort Festival, and Milwaukee’s SummerFest.
Peter M’s collaboration with Youngbloods marks a new chapter for his group. Following the summer of 2020, We Are The Willows found themselves at an existential turning point - reconsidering how, and why, they made music together. Now That I’m Older sees a shift in their thematic and sonic approach, synthesizing introspective meditations on depression, anxiety, love, and identity through a factory of loops, effected vocals, pedals, and electric, acoustic, and chamber instruments. The result is serene and solitary; futuristic, aurally outlandish hymns for the personal, quiet moments between life’s margins.
In Peters’ words: “These songs found me at a time in my life where my hopes, desires, & expectations of the world were not being met…I thought creating music had lost its usefulness: for me and for others…but of course, my way to cope with that was making music. And now, I've maybe learned what it is I want, what it is I need out of this fucking art stuff. It needs to make sense of the world. It needs to feel transcendent. And [writing with loops] is time travel. It's collaborating with a past self. It really takes the pressure off. I feel like I can dance on it.”
