Shannon and The Clams have shared a new single, Wax & String.
Offering their signature '60s R&B and vintage rock sound, the lively, upbeat nature of the track contrasts with the deep, emotional meaning behind the lyrics.
The song will be released on March 7 as a 7" with I'm A Fool as the b-side, and follows the Oakland band's Dan Auerbach-produced 2024 album, 'The Moon Is In The Wrong Place', which tackled themes of grief and resilience following the unexpected death of bandleader Shannon Shaw's fiancé Joe Haener. Introducing the song, guitarist Cody Blanchard said:
"This song is about the way people attach deep meaning to inanimate objects.
"The ease with which we do this, how natural it is for us. The innate compulsion towards superstition, witchery, sacred objects, cursed objects. It’s in us. A teddy bear, a pocketknife, a weird rock, a sacred idol, a garment.
"In Aliens (1986), Ripley checks inside a filthy doll’s head for bad dreams to comfort an orphaned child. The child replies, ‘it’s just a piece of plastic.’ Which is true. But also it doesn’t matter. It was the only thing she had to comfort her after her parents died, and it helped.
"In retrospect I think this concept bubbled into my subconscious right after Joe died, and I had to go into Joe and Shannon’s empty apartment to get something of his and water the plants that he left behind, because it was way too painful for Shannon to return yet. Going through his things feeling very shook up at seeing and touching the objects that belonged to him, that he used every day, that he intended to use again, things drenched in his psychic presence. The way they were left out or put away for the future. I didn’t really tell anyone about it at the time. Something about interacting with these things was very emotional in a way I did not expect. Unable to even comprehend what this would feel like for Shannon, the hard limits of my own emotional comprehension. My own small experience absolutely dwarfed by that."
Shannon and the Clams are currently touring Australia, and have US dates in the diary for April. Head here for details. Tickets are on sale now.
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