Reb Fountain is a New Zealand songwriter who is building to the release of her new album IRIS in October. This week she’s shared the latest single from it, “Lacuna”. There are a multitude of meanings to be gleaned from the song, but on the chrous of “What a way to start / kisses in the dark”, she says:
“There is strong loyalty to the secret; the social contract which binds us to the burden of the unsaid. The tension between devotion to the lie – masquerading as protection – and the desire to protect oneself, can render us absent to even the starkest of realities.“
A chugging, imperious song that has inflections of desert rock and is topped with a psychedelic sheen of organ, “Lacuna” certainly feels like Reb Fountain on a mission. While she reflects on the excitement of the aforementioned “kisses in the dark”, she also seems to be struggling to carry the burden of secrecy with her. As “Lacuna” progresses, a thick, phasered guitar solo drapes itself across the track, resonating the dissonance that the singer feels between the unbreakable love she has for this person and her desire to be a free agent, able to do and say entirely as she feels. It feels like there’s a tempestuous spirit swimming just below the surface of “Lacuna”; Reb Fountain’s true, naturalistic beast energy ready to become untamed.
We get to see some of that spirit in the video for “Lacuna”, where Reb Fountain sets off into the wilderness. You can watch the clip below or listen to it on streaming platforms.
Reb Fountain’s new album IRIS arrives on October 1 through Flying Nun (pre-order/save). You can find the songwriter on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
