“Friends In Dark Places” is the first Black Drumset track delivered entirely in the first person. That may not seem like a big deal for most artists, but after 15 years, it’s a personal breakthrough for Brian Willey.
“I was living in Tucson, Ariz., hiding out during the worst of the pandemic, and this song kind of burst forth after a period of not making any music at all and being very depressed from lockdowns and the whole musical ecosystem going on hold,” says Willey. “I’d previously had a rule for this project that I’d never sing in the first person.”
So, naturally, it became the title track for the self-released Friends In Dark Places, an album that moves away from the Black Drumset’s atmospheric instrumental roots toward vocals, guitar-forward arrangements and some of Willey’s most linear songwriting yet. Since 2009, the Austin-based artist has been parlaying his fascination with global rhythms and hypnotic grooves into a cinematic blend of psych, krautrock, shoegaze and drone. While Friends In Dark Places hardly abandons that pursuit, it counters the usual emotional distance with an uncommon vulnerability.
The accompanying video for the title track was shot entirely from the window of a Paris subway car by visual artist Seth Orion Schwaiger. Willey’s linear edits allow the passing cityscape to unfold with the same patient momentum as the music itself.
“The song begins in darkness and loss and ends with an insistence on finding joy,” says Willey. “We sometimes find true friends or positive things within ourselves when going through the darkest times.”
We’re proud to premiere the Black Drumset’s “Friends In Dark Places.” Look for the new album on July 17.
—Hobart Rowland