Loone – “River’s Our Blood” Video
Loone have been around in some form or another since 2013, first as the solo project of Noel’le Longhaul (the iteration that resulted in their self-titled debut), and later as an all trans and genderqueer quartet with a lineup filled out by Nick Berger, Alyssa Kai, and Ruby Opal, who together released a split with sibling band Paper Bee at the end of 2015. Last year, they went on their first North American tour, opening for the Hotelier, Told Slant, and Bellows, bands that share their same inclusive and community-minded ethos.
The group, who live together in a house in rural Western Massachusetts, are gearing up to release their first album as a full band, and today they’ve shared a new single called “River’s Our Blood.” It sounds huge, built around teetering vocal harmonies and shambolic drumming that makes the song feel like it could collapse at any moment, which is appropriate considering the track is about building a structure for yourself within a society that, as it currently exists, will not support you. “There is no world to flee to/ Where we are is where we’ll stay,” the band sings.
The song is accompanied by a video that follows two divergent narratives: one in which the band builds an art installation, the other in which they sign legal documents to acquire the collective house they all reside in — both means of creating sustainable spaces for themselves. “We use our bodies and our spirits to weave a web of care and collaboration with and for each other, and believe that to be a radical declaration of intent to stay, to live, to fight, and to work,” the band told Spark Mag. “This song, and this video, are love songs to the place we’re from and the places we’re going.”
Watch and listen below.
“River’s Our Blood” is available on a limited edition lathe cut 7″ — you can order that here.