Daily Dose is your daily source for the song you absolutely, positively need to hear every day. Curated by the Paste Music Team.
Mountain Man are a very special band because not only are Molly Sarlé, Alexandra Sauser-Monnig and Amelia Meath great as a group, but they’re also all creators of other accomplished projects. Meath is one-half of synth-pop duo Sylvan Esso, Sauser-Monnig makes thoughtful folk music under the alias Daughter of Swords, and Sarlé writes stunning, roomy songs under her own name. The singer/songwriter is sharing the latest of those today with “Twisted,” a pared-down tour de force that arrives with an equally breathtaking music video. Watch it below.
“Twisted” is the third in a series of singles from Sarlé’s forthcoming album Karaoke Angel (out Sept. 20 on Partisan Records), which was written and recorded over the span of three years and as many places, from a trailer in Big Sur to home in North Carolina to a studio in Woodstock, N.Y. “Twisted” is like what the sung part of Catholic mass would sound like if it weren’t in Latin and actually left every member of the congregation feeling full of love, ready to let it spill out over everyone they know. The lyrics read like one long sentence, but there’s nothing stiff about these words—they don’t belong on a page. “Who says there’s anything with being Twisted?” Sarlé sings over a lone guitar. “Still I’m trying to keep it straight / Trying not to get lost in judgement or hate of / Those who I have deemed to be useless.”
The song is affecting on its own, but paired with this magnificent music video, which depicts Sarlé in a field of flowers that looks like an impressionist painting come to life, basking in golden hour light and gazing at a mountain range, it’s even more stunning to behold. Megan Lovallo of Kitty Disco directed the video.
Here’s what Sarlé said about the song and its empathetic message:
“Twisted” is a song I wrote to myself. I wrote it while working on a David Mamet play called ‘Oleanna.’ The play is written so well that it’s impossible to tell who is right, and who is wrong! And so empathy ensues. That’s what “Twisted” is about. If you are paying attention to your life, and to the lives of other people, it’s impossible to escape empathy. Unless you’re a sociopath. And yeah, sociopaths are playing quite large roles in our society these days…Enjoy!
Don’t mind if we do. Again, you can watch Molly Sarlé’s gorgeous new video for “Twisted” below. Then hear Mountain Man’s 2010 Daytrotter session further down. Keep scrolling for Molly Sarlé’s tour dates, and look for Karaoke Angel out on Sept. 20.
Molly Sarlé Tour Dates:
August
30 – Brighton, U.K. @ Green Door Store
31 – Salisbury, U.K. @ End Of The Road Festival
September
01 – Farndale North Yorkshire, U.K. @ The Band Room
02 – Glasgow, U.K. @ Broadcast
03 – Leeds, U.K. @ Hyde Park Book Club
04 – London, U.K. @ St Pancras Old Church
06 – Den Haag, Netherlands @ Paard Van Troje
08 – Rees-Haldern, Germany @ Haldern Pop Bar
09 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso Noord (Tuinzaal) *
10 – Berlin, Germany @ Maze Club
11 – Paris, France @ Le Pop-Up du Label +
14 – Leffinge, Belgium @ Lefflingeleuren Festival
16 – Cologne, Germany @ Wohngemeinschaft *
17 – Dusseldorf, Germany @ Zakk
18-21 – Hamburg, Germany @ Reeperbahn Festival
October
07 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ Bootleg Theatre
08 – San Francisco, Calif. @ Café Du Nord #
09 – Portland, Ore. @ Bunk Bar #
11 – Seattle, Wash. @ The Vera Project #
17 – Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Baby’s All Right
18 – Washington, D.C. @ Songbyrd
20 – Durham, N.C. @ Northstar
22 – Tulsa, Okla. @ Cain’s Ballroom %
23 – Irving, Texas @ The Pavillion at Toyota Music Factory %
25 – Houston, Texas @ Revention Music Center %
26 – Austin, Texas @ ACL Live at the Moody Theatre %
27 – Austin, Texas @ ACL Live at the Moody Theatre %
November
22 – Durham, N.C. @ DPAC ^
23 – Durham, N.C. @ DPAC ^
(# with Daughter of Swords)
(^ Supporting Sylvan Esso)
(* Supporting Bedouine)
(+ Supporting Gia Margaret)
(% Supporting Wilco)