The Weather Station is the musical moniker of Tamara Lindeman, who released her self-titled debut album in 2017. It’s taken some time in coming, but she has today released some new music to follow it up, in the form of a track called “Robber”, her first for Fat Possum. She says of the track:
“I think in my life I’ve been pretty naive, always tried to see the good in everyone (still do), always tried to make do with what is and not think of what can’t be (still do). But those attitudes are dangerous when applied at a societal level, especially at this moment in time. I think we’re all in denial a bit, about where we are, and what is happening, because it’s easier on some level, easier to try and make do with what’s missing than to see what’s missing. I think it’s hard to believe in the robber, hard to even see the robber; it’s easier to try and make love to or glamourize the robber. It hurts too much otherwise. To put it straight; there are real human people who are literally robbing us and all future generations of everything that matters, right now. But we literally can’t see that as a society, because for one thing we’ve been taught not to value what is taken, and for another because we’ve been taught to glamourize and love the taker. We love to love the taker. We don’t know how to see the victim of the taking.”
The underlying anger from the above quote is ripe throughout the quietly simmering “Robber”. Across five minutes, Lindeman guides a seven-piece band through a darkly quicksilver jam, slowly building on tight drumming and tense shots of violin, while splashes of piano and drips of sax dot the atmosphere. At the centre of The Weather Station’s imperious track is Lindeman’s voice, ever-increasing in poise, but never straining beyond her captivatingly calm vocal delivery. Deeper into this driving track, the instrumentation becomes more expressive and commanding. It all combines to ensure that “Robber” is imbued with a determination that slowly but surely seeps in, pulling the listener into the fight and charging them with a subtle confidence to overcome.
You can listen to The Weather Station’s “Robber” on streaming platforms, or watch the video below, which was shot by Jared Raab and directed by Lindeman herself in her first foray into the medium.
There should be news about a new album from The Weather Station coming soon, so make sure to follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
