Chicago indie rockers Paddlefish have shared a new track titled Small Song. On the song, singer Owen Misterovich tackles perhaps the most literal interpretation of being between two worlds as he recounts an episode of sleep paralysis. The track opens with a low-fi acoustic guitar and plunges into a vibrant, swirling world that echoes the near psychedelic experience he had in the state between being awake and asleep. The event, during which he hallucinated colourful insects swarming over his immobile body, was so powerful he wrote the song the morning after, and immediately recorded it with his brother Joe Misterovich. You can take a listen via SoundCloud below.
“They’re circling around my head / They said that they still love me,” Misterovich recounts with a carefree, catchy melody that oddly enough perfectly befits the sinister nature of the song. “I believe in you, but let me sleep goddamn it,” he pleads, as the song becomes a portrait of mental unrest, the physical manifestation of his growing pains.
“I guest my little creative night terrors won out,” Misterovich jokes. “They got the song they wanted out of me.”
It is not easy to find a fresh take of the coming-of-age story, which is perhaps what makes Paddlefish’s debut studio album ‘Flyer’ so appealing. Principal songwriter Owen Misterovich doesn’t so much rewrite the coming-of-age narrative as crack it open and expose the process itself. Written over the course of his first year away from his hometown of Springfield, Missouri, Misterovich presents eight tales told from the threshold between youth and adulthood, a chronological account of his own journey of disillusionment, acceptance, and eventual growth.
“[It’s about] being a kid and feeling like you’re in between two things—you’re maybe not a kid anymore, you’re getting older, but you’re not an adult yet.” Misterovich says of the record, which was largely inspired by the disappointment he experienced after moving to Chicago at the age of seventeen, where he found himself braving the first harsh winter in a windowless dorm room in the heart of the city. Through evocative lyricism and an impeccable sense of melody and arrangement, ‘Flyer’ parallels his experience with infectious stories of failed space travel, dorm-room spiders, and never-ending highways.
The songs are largely arranged by Misterovich, whose finesse for balancing hooks and unpredictability feels far beyond his years. ‘Flyer‘ combines rich guitar textures with a lush palette of piano, organ, and mellotron, an expansive experience that leaves ample space for both reflection and release. Influenced by artists like Neil Young and The Band, with loving nods towards The Flaming Lips and Wilco, Flyer crackles with energy that defies the alienation from which it was born.
‘Flyer’ was recorded at Pieholden Suite Sound in Chicago, IL, which was founded by the late Jay Bennett (Wilco). It was engineered by Matt Dewine (Ryley Walker, Willis Earl Beal) with additional engineering by Joe Misterovich, and produced by Dewine and Paddlefish. It was mastered by Carl Saff (Molly Burch). The record features Owen Misterovich, Bayden Fraley, and Missy Farrell. Since forming in 2015 in Springfield, Missouri, Paddlefish has put out two records, Lidsville and Spill Me!, the latter of which was released via High Dive Records. They have toured across the midwest and the east coast, and opened for indie staples such as Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Diarrhea Planet, and LA Witch.
