Shane Butler of the Boston psychedelic four-piece Quilt and multi-instrumentalist Caity Shaffer are the voices behind a new collaborative project, Olden Yolk. And today, the duo announces their self-titled debut and share its lead single, “Takes One To Know One.” Between the guitar ostinato, Butler and Shaffer’s vocal duet, and the fast-moving video montage that accompanies the song, “Takes One To Know One” will put you in an eight-minute trance. Butler and Shaffer shared this explanation:

“Takes One to Know One” is a play on the phrase typically meant to assign blame through commonality. Its use in the song is closer to an acceptance of our collective situation rather than a belittlement of it. It was written in our hometown of New York City — an iconic place whose icons (monuments, buildings, public art) are continually morphing and breaking down, shifting whatever former meaning had once been assigned to them.

Some moments hit right when you feel like the “writing’s on the door.” The song, written during an especially jarring year of disillusionment, explores the process of finding solace in passing visages — a stranger’s smile on the subway or the beauty of haphazard graffiti on a brick-laden wall. The song cycles around a group chant at the choruses. It’s instrumentation is highly inspired by the percussion style of Jaki Liebezeit (of the German group CAN), a favorite of ours.

Check it out below.

Tracklist:

01 Verdant
02 Cut To The Quick
03 Gamblers On A Dime
04 Vital Sign
05 Aria
06 Common Ground
07 Hen’s Teeth
08 Esprit De Corps
09 After Us
10 Takes One To Know One

Olden Yolk is out 2/23 via Trouble In Mind Records. Pre-order it from the label or iTunes.

CREDIT: Daniel Dorsa