Mason Geear
North Texas Electronic Band Ishi Is Back With An Acoustic, Synth-Tinged Love Song Leading The Promise Of More New Music To Come.
Welcome to Song of the Day, where we hip you to all the new local releases you should be caring about. By highlighting one new North Texas-sprung tune every week day, our hope is that you’ll find something new to love about the rich and abundant DFW music scene five days a week.
Ishi – “Rose of Tennessee”
RIYL: Love.
What Else You Should Know: With their latest single, “Rose of Tennessee,” Ishi proves there aren’t many limits the band can’t conquer in this post-genre era.
Since forming the experimental project back in 2006, we’ve come to expect a sound from Ishi that’s not only electronic in nature, but infused with influences of funk, pop and soul music.
Though the band hasn’t released a full-length since 2013’s Digital Wounds, they have kept busy with EP releases, live touring performances and one-off singles. The 4-minute track marks a shift in a different direction from what we last heard from them on 2019’s buoyant “Bring The Thunder.”
On “Rose of Tennessee” they lean into a downtempo arrangement created by only a few layers of synths and acoustic guitar.
The song begins with a simple synth intro, casting an ethereal effect throughout the entirety of the somber tune. Mudd’s vocals are gentle and reserved, smoothly aligning with the simplicity of the song.
Lyrically, Mudd reminisces about the first time he met the woman he loves as he recalls thinking the two were meant to be friends, but remained intrigued by the “fire in her eyes.” The song plays out like a love poem, with repetition and delicate imagery coloring the story.
While the track may seem like another one-off single release before another period of dormancy, Mudd recently teased new music is on the way. There’s no telling what that means in the way of Ishi’s ever-evolving sound, but we certainly wouldn’t be mad at more of their acoustic material.