We are utterly thrilled to premiere today the new single from the ultra chic, ultra enigmatic Dänmark entitled ‘The Ten Days it Takes to Plan a Funeral’. As the title suggests, this is an elegy for a departed friend – and befittingly anthemic and cinematic. The band says of the track:
It evokes a sense of a broken spirit, reflecting on a friend’s passing, and while willing to start again, recollecting how easy the interactions were.
The poignancy and hurt bleed effortlessly through every note: elegiac and transcendent music that positively shimmers and sparkles like icicles in the sunlight, shifting in shape and form and mutable. The feelings and emotions are elegantly delivered in the poetic beauty of the lyrics:
Black marks on white bits of paper
My mind’s far from home
But you went away
It rained for ten whole days from my face
Just in case
In case you were wondering
What’s left behind
The whole world’s exploding
It’s a hell of a time
This is heartbreakingly beautiful music reflecting our challenging times and personal grief, and yet delivering a scintilla of gasping beauty and hope:
I know it takes strength to believe me
(‘cause you went away)
Especially when we’re apart
Convince yourself that music is healing
(‘cause you went away)
This track is out tomorrow in all the usual places and through Bandcamp but you can have a sneak listen in the video below. The video – shot on a smartphone – is a gentle ramble through the lives of the band as they stroll like characters from a Quentin Tarantino movie – besuited, elegant, funereal and sombre – getting ready to perform as an act of catharsis.
‘The Ten Days it Takes to Plan a Funeral’ is out though the legendary False Peaks Records and you can get it here. It is part of the label’s annual yuletide Advent Calendar – filled with slow reveals of utmost beauty (including the label’s own brand of honey and the recently reviewed follow single). I am slightly relieved, due to my tender sensibilities, that We Set Sail‘s Regurgitator single was not proffered for review.
The last time we heard from Dänmark was during the same event last year: we need to hear more from this marvelous band.
Who are Dänmark? Maybe bits and pieces from other local Brisbane bands, some of whom may be recognised from the video. It matters not: this is delicious dark emotive fare to provide a weighty, emotional counterpoint to the festive season.
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