After listening to Your Friend’s “Tame One” thirteen times in a row, it is indeed confirmed that she’s going to be one of those artists I tell people about in the line at the grocery store. She’s got that rough-around-the-edges, soft-in-the-middle vibe that I always fall for, and I’m thrilled to gab about her to you.
Your Friend is the solo work of one Taryn Miller, whose moniker is derived from a meaningful experience she had after a Daniel Johnston show. She calls Lawrence, Kansas her home base, and if you watch the video for the track, you’ll experience a day in the life of Your Friend in her natural environment. Record store employee by day, performing musician by night, the video showcases the warmth which is captured in her sound. Loose and genuine, “Tame One” begins tame enough and ends in a wild frenzy of guitar rumble and drum thunder. The juxtaposition and contradiction of gentle yet feverish repetitions of “Oh, tame one, who are you holding your words for?/Oh, maimed one, who are you holding out for?” are what have me gushing. Her Domino Records bio describes her sound: “Fusing warm atmospheric guitars with a focused and emotionally rich sense of song craft, Your Friend presents a keen balance of experimentation and structure. Momentum carries these creations through dramatic shifts that feel surprising, inevitable and always authentic.” Sold.
Like so many of my all-time favorites (tune-yards, St. Vincent, Lady Lamb the Beekeeper), Your Friend isn’t afraid to expose her insides, spilling her feelings along with her wild bad assery. I can’t wait to hear the rest of Jekyll/Hyde, which is why I just pre-ordered a 12″ and received an immediate download of the whole thing. You can do it, too, right here. Jekyll/Hyde will be released by Domino Records on April 8th in both 12″ and CD formats, but you can stream it on digital platforms now. Listen to “Tame One” above by my new friend, Your Friend.