John Andrew Frederick, the genius behind the iconic dream pop exponents the black watch, manages to match a preternatural prolificacy in the sheer volume of his songwriting with an accompanied brilliance and quality that is never diluted. He has announced the release of a double album (a symbol of his productivity) entitled ‘For All The World’ for 25 June via Atom Records. It is incredibly his twenty-fifth release and to provide a tasty temptation to sweeten the announcement, the single ‘Achilles Past’ has been unveiled.
The trademark jingle jangle dream pop sound permeates the track along with Frederick’s deep timbre, the yearning, melancholic melodies and the cinematic, wide-screen scope of the instrumentation. Frederick says of the track:
It’s about, as the first line of the song hints, temptation and how sometimes, not always – we can’t avoid it, notwithstanding our best intentions!
The message is brief and as enigmatic as the the front man/novelist/ex-English professor himself:
Better stay away from what’s another word for temptation?
Things you might say have been somewhat Achilles in the past
& that lasted for so long for too long
Everyone it seems is two or more people in their dreams
& their not-dreams. Still you get them only here
to stay–indifferent & pale. For so long.
For too long. Far too long.
It is a majestic single imbued with a certain enchanting presence. The accompanying video is a fascinating assembly of iconic imagery interspersed with shots of Frederick:
‘Achilles Past’ is out now and available to stream and download here. Watch out for more news on the album. Frederick says of his songwriting:
I know that songs just pour out of me; songwriting is a great, sometimes frustrating, but mostly fun endeavor. It’s exciting. It counterbalances the other part of my life where I sit around comparing translations of Tolstoy and Proust and Dostoevsky. There are many bands, by the by- other than the Beatles – that I cherish, and many more I greatly loathe, which is a bit motivating. And moreover I’m in love with making music.
And we certainly are the beneficiaries of his musical journey.
Read our review of The Black Watch’s ‘Weird Rooms’ released last year.
