Sometimes, a song comes to an artist almost out of thin air. Alas, “Intertwined” was not that song.
“It was the last and most difficult tune written for the album,” says Ohvaur’s Timothy Den of the title track for Intertwined. “We had the rest finished, but we needed an opener that would also provide an album title—because we couldn’t, for the life of us, come up with one.”
Self-released and available October 18, Intertwined is the arty, cinematic heavy-rock trio’s first album since 2013’s A Memories Chase, an LP that revolved around Den’s itinerant childhood growing up in Taiwan, South America and Miami—especially the time he spent here as an undocumented immigrant. But those days are long gone. Den is now a full-fledged American, a new father and more of generalist than he was in his younger days, dabbling in publishing, websites and film scores.
Noting that he wrestled with “Intertwined” for almost a year, Den credits veteran producer Matt Wallace (Faith No More, Replacements) with some tough love. “He poked holes through much of it and put me back into rewrites for another few months,” says Den. “Mike’s tireless search for rhythmic layering was eventually achieved by recording three separate drum setups.”
Though Den has described Intertwined’s prog-skewed vibe as “angry Peter Gabriel,” the title track’s message is largely positive. “It’s my version of hopeful thinking—that we all somehow find our back way to the ones we love, in this life and beyond,” he says. “If we’re made from the universe and return to it upon our passing, only to re-form out of those same particles, perhaps we’ll instinctively know to drift toward the ones who’ve been the most important to us. At least, that’s been a comforting idea when I’ve dealt with grief.”
We’re proud to premiere “Intertwined.”
—Hobart Rowland
