Awning hail from Auckland, New Zealand, where they've developed a compelling spin on emotionally charged, guitar-powered indie rock. Among those compelled are the team at Winspear. The consistently excellent LA-based independent label just made Awning their second international signing after Melbourne's Swapmeet, who earned Band To Watch status around here not long ago.
Awning's first single for Winspear, "Little Green Book," is out today. It's propulsive and catchy but also full of grit. The verses are punctuated with discordant guitar blasts, and they build to a chorus in which vocalist Christian Dimick pushes his voice to raw, explosive places as distortion rains down. Dimick weighs in:
This song is about grief, gritty stuff that feels almost too much to put into song format. This is why all the lyrical imagery is open, cryptic and layered up. When things feel too personal lyrically, I like to create a little distance between the listener and myself. The lyrical obscurity allows me some privacy but also opens the song's meaning up, allowing someone to insert their own meaning. I like that about music. In saying that, there are some pretty on-the-nose lyrics as well. “I want to remember what you said” and “Grief is a corner…” I mean, you get the gist. We carry people’s words around for them after they are gone.
Watch director Damin McCabe's "Little Green Book" video below.
