Daily Dose: Michael Nau, “I Root (Trio Version)”

Daily Dose is your daily source for the song you absolutely, positively need to hear every day. Curated by the Paste Music Team.

Singer, songwriter, and former Cotton Jones frontman Michael Nau released his last LP Some Twist back in June, but a few remaining songs lingered with him. So, last month, he surprised fans with an unannounced offering, a seven-track EP called The Load. Recorded between Burlington, Vt. and Nashville, the songs range from sparse tunes tracked to a Tascam 388 tape machine to richer, ethereal collaborations with mutual friends like Natalie Prass.

In particular, “I Root (Trio Version)” that appears on The Load stands out as a prime alternate take. As Nau writes, “’I Root (Trio)’ was recorded in Burlington, late night in Benny Yurco’s studio, Little Jamaica. The strings were done later at Sound Loom. We did a few songs in this trio arrangement…this is the only one that stuck. I like this version as a sort of standalone, but it didn’t seem to work with the overall vibe of Some Twist, so we used the full band version for that record.”

The new video for the trio version matches the songs soft sentiment. Bathed in magic hour light and shot with an aspect ratio that just whispers nostalgia, the video illustrates the purest elements of a father-son relationship. In fewer than three minutes, the acoustic track—made weightless by its string accompaniment—and idyllic imagery make a brief, needed respite from this world.