While some things in life are not meant to last, they inevitably shape our expectations on who we may become and often draw us into reminiscing and exploring those metaphysical realms. In his new single “Prime”, from his forthcoming album Tea Lady (Dog Legs Records on March 27th), Chicago-based Evan Uhlmann remembers how unaware we are of life as kids. He comes to terms that life is not as we imagined it was as a child.
With an impressive list of Chicago musicians and his deadpan vocals, he creates a dreamy, almost surreal lens, through which he shares these contemplations and meditations on life, enlisting his brother Greg Uhlmann (Fell Runner, Typical Sisters) and Tim Carr as co-producers. And, with help from Matt Carroll (Ohmme), Dan Pierson (VV Lightbody), and Myra Hinrichs (Whitney) laying down the instrumentals.
He shared the following with us: “Prime is a song about moving on from past relationships that didn’t work out, but at the same time being able to remember some of the good times that were had. In some ways, it’s a goodbye song. I talk about how good it feels to be out of a relationship, while also saying that I appreciated the person even though it wasn’t a good fit. I also wrote it to process how I was a feeling, and as a way to move on from what was happening in my life. The chorus reflects on a younger and more naive version of myself that was in a relationship. In a way, it’s kind of an ode to young love and the euphoria that we feel, even if things weren’t meant to last.”
Tea Lady was made in studios, homes, and garages over the course of 3 years. It’s an album of searching and seeking. Looking around for answers and realizing that they can only be found inside oneself. This searching led Uhlmann to move from Chicago to New York to Los Angeles and back to Chicago to realize the beauty of his home city. The songs are more questions than answers. Meditations on past lives, other realms of existence, and coming of age.
Pre-Order Tea Lady via Bandcamp: https://evanuhlmann.bandcamp.com/album/tea-lady
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