Exuding a powerful rock sound with soaring guitar lines and spacey synth touches, “Lions” is the latest single from Todd Binder. The track was recorded in San Francisco, at John Vanderslice’s Tiny Telephone Studio. Binder’s move from Virginia to California prompted a personal challenge to record an album’s worth of new material, and he did just that, at Tiny Telephone Studio. “Sunray” kick-started the string of single releases this year, and “Lions” represents the most recent, leading up to that album.
Thematically, “Lions” stresses the impetus that “our shared experiences and natural ability to create” can have in being a source of new adventures. These connections are innately important, and Binder stresses to find and savor them. The lyrics cast a fearlessness into the “everything is gonna change,” brightness, then acknowledging “nobody knows the way.”
The uniqueness of one’s individual pain is emphasized, as is the power of translating that into unique art and sources of connection. The meshing of soaring vocal emotion — touting a psych-friendly charm in the wordless backing vocals, synth touches, and varied guitars — with more understated contemplation resonates throughout.
—
This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of October 2023’ Spotify playlist.
