Bonny Light Horseman – “Old Dutch”
The folk-rock supergroup Bonny Light Horseman have a new double album on the way. Keep Me On Your Mind/See You Free will drop in a month, and the trio has thus far shared two promising singles, “When I Was Younger” and “I Know You Know.” Today they’ve added a third. “Old Dutch” is a gleaming duet between Eric D. Johnson and Anaïs Mitchell, full of impassioned harmonies and lovely flourishes like the somber harmonica break that appears about halfway through. “I got a feeling that I couldn’t shake you even if I tried,” the two singers conclude, just before backing vocals like a gospel choir emerge to carry the song into its finale. I mean it as a compliment when I say this would have slayed on VH1 in the ’90s.
In their statement, the band explains that “Old Dutch” got its title from where it was written:
This song began as a backstage voice memo when we were performing at the Old Dutch Church in Kingston, NY, so iPhone named it for us. It came together fast with the three of us just finger-painting until there it was. It took a few fits and starts before we realized that it should be a duet and–importantly–a conversation. We recorded it live at Levis’ and when the whole crowd started singing “yeah I got a feelin,” we all experienced a moment of collective lift-off. Josh looked over at Joe’s (bar owner) partner Caroline behind the bar, eyes wide open, arms outstretched, singing along and deeply feeling it. We’d never had that kind of moment tracking a song for a record before, seeing and feeling the connection (beyond the musicians in the room) in real-time as it’s all going to tape. It feels like this recording has some of that “real-life” energy to it.
Listen below.
Keep Me On Your Mind/See You Free is out 6/7 via Jagjaguwar.