Awning Give You Shelter with ‘running Game’ [premiere]

If you’re from Brooklyn, like the band Awning, you’ve probably sought relief from a rainstorm under one of those plastic coverings outside a corner store. You hide away and watch the streets and pedestrians fight the downpour. It’s fitting then, that Awning offers melodic shelter, creating a place to hide from a storm of overblown pop radio music. The electronic folk duo of Jon Sheldrick and Luke Smith craft folk songs with cautious electronic elements, balancing acoustic guitars and somber vocals with synth loops, fills and effects. So, tuck yourself into a corner and got lost in the juiced waves of “Running Game”, a premiere from their upcoming album Two Against Me, out on April 15th (pre-order available on Bandcamp).

Listening to “Running Game” is like reading 1950s magazines that conjectured what 2014 would look like. The elements are there, bright and futuristic, but everything is slightly askew. Instead of a glossy synth perfectly in place, we get a distorted one. Instead of celebratory lyrics, we hear displaced nostalgia. The tone is similar to the melancholic works of Bibio, which Awning has sited as an influence. Music like theirs lives in alternate worlds, protected from harsh realities, and in the case of Awning, you might just want to stay once you listen.