Matt Jencik is a member of Implodes, Don Caballero, and Slint's live band and a self-proclaimed "record store lifer" at Chicago institution Reckless Records. He's teamed up with Madeline Johnston, the Denver musician who consistently releases brilliant spectral slowcore under the Midwife banner, for a new collaborative album called Never Die. It's out in July via Relapse, and its opening track "Delete Key" is here now for the listening.
Never Die began as home recordings by Jencik, songs about wishing his loved ones could live forever. After work with a previous collaborator fell through, he thought to approach Johnston, who he first met in 2015 when they shared a stage and properly befriended in 2018, about applying her special sauce to the music. "It took me a few weeks to get up the courage to ask her, but I’m so glad I did," he explains. "Even though I was not the songwriter on this project, the work falls in line with all the themes that Midwife explores," Johnston says. "Each song tells a story, an experience documented and preserved, like a moment trapped in a snow globe."
Shapeless and void yet filled with longing for a life without grief, "Delete Key" works as a wonderful introduction to the project. Watch its music video below.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Delete Key"
02 "Don’t Protest (Too Much)"
03 "Flower Dragon"
04 "The Last Night"
05 "Bend"
06 "Never Die"
07 "Only Death Is Real"
08 "September Goths"
09 "Organ Delay"
10 "Rickety Ride"
Never Die is out 7/11 on Relapse. Pre-order it here.
