“Putting out music right now feels like handing out your resume at a funeral” and “things in Minneapolis are really shitty right now,” yet that situation doesn’t stop Dan Hornsby and Tailer Ransom from releasing a sophomore album with their indie folk project True Green. It only makes the meaning of the thirteen new tracks on Hail Disaster even greater, I guess. The lo-fi haze of their debut LP My Lost Decade—we called it wobbly bedroom pop at the time—has been exchanged for something fuller, warmer, and quietly devastating.
Dan Hornsby writes like a novelist because he is one; his songs read as short stories about cruelty, obsession, and loss. His voice stays soft, but the weight behind it has shifted; these are hard-earned reflections. The organ, banjo, synthesizers, concertina, and guitar by multi-instrumentalist Tailer Ransom wrap everything in a fragile glow, at times somewhat reminiscent of The Velvet Underground, equal parts homespun and haunted. It led to a beautiful and impressive soundtrack for the current context; outside the world burns, inside this music documents the turmoil with unsettling grace.
Hail Disaster—mixed and mastered by Matt Castore—is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Spacecase Records. Also featuring Dustin James, John Goddard, Zach Mitchell, Kent Peterson, Curtis Arnett, Nik Eskola, Scott Kiefner, Isaac Butler, and Jared Bartman.