Daily Dose is your daily source for the song you absolutely, positively need to hear every day. Curated by the Paste Music Team.
Figuring out who you are is a never-ending process. We’re not sure who needs to hear this right now, but: That’s alright. Take your time. Try new things. Move across the country. Eat some good food.
Louis Prince (real name: Jake McMullen) wants you to know that, too. On his debut single, the Nashville newcomer reflects on the anxieties of growing up and wondering if you’re falling behind your friends on the nonexistent linear path through life.
“Half Acres” takes the post-internet sensibilities of Bon Iver’s recent work and slaps an understated jazz filter over it. Prince’s vocals are part vocoder, part falsetto and part sultry croon, eagerly moving through his range and imbuing the impressionist lyrics like “An ivory tower / I read it wrong / you and I both know” with nuance.
Tender keys guide the track through its runtime, flickering layers of bass and synthesized drums intermittently. A low-key affair, “Half Acres” builds to a lovely conclusion with warbling synths and tactile electronica overwhelming everything else during a prolonged fadeout.
“Half Acres” is paired with a visualizer that wouldn’t feel out of place in an experimental video art installation. Multiple screens show glitching landscapes and mediated fonts typing the lyrics in helix shapes. Here’s what Prince says about the video:
The song itself touches on themes of change, figuring out who you are in relation to others and your surrounding landscape, as well as, the idea of commitment and lack thereof. So the video aims to reflect that “figuring out” process—things are deleted, cut short, pixelated, etc. constantly changing until finally deciding that it’s all these changes and manipulations that make up the final product. Similar to that of the individual whose flaws and journey are what make them special.
Louis Prince’s debut album can be expected sometime in 2020 on Last Gang Records. Watch the visualizer for “Half Acres” below, then keep scrolling to find the single art and a handful of tour dates.
”Half Acres” Art:
Louis Prince Tour Dates:
August
15 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ Echo Park Rising
September
09 – Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Elsewhere Zone One