Girl at the Rock Shows

I’m sure that I’ve seen a Sycamore Tree at least once in my life but, if I’m being honest, I couldn’t tell you what one looks like. I like nature, I do, but I also like to look at it from afar. I’m more of an inside cat than an outside one and prefer to keep it that way. That being said, this new song from Mabilene titled “Sycamore Tree” has me mesmerizing to the point where I’m wondering if I could go find a Sycamore Tree right now to go get lost under.

This song is haunting in all of the right ways. It’s slow, steady and deliberate with a very serious tone but with a very organic take on that tone. There’s something classic and timeless about this song which is only enhanced by the video footage that comes with this track. Honestly, I would try and describe this video in my own words but Mabilene’s words about this imagery that comes with “Sycamore Tree” are just so much better than mine so…

“The film is composed entirely of archival public domain footage, woven together to give voice to the shadow of the American psyche.

In addition to the story of the worker/dreamer brought down by hate, the spoken word element of the remix expands the themes of the song to touch the broader violence underneath so much of the American experiment.

As I was putting together the video, Paul Edwards, a performance studies professor of mine in college passed away. His class Performing the American 50’s was highly impactful and really opened my eyes to the presentational aspect of American culture. It just felt right to weave this into the video.

Coming out of WWII there was great abundance and images of the idyllic American family flooded our media – but this newfound prosperity did not apply to all. And under the surface was an emerging and rapidly growing anxiety. For the first time in human history we had created a force we could not defeat with the atomic bomb.

And this threat has carried us through the new age to the present day. Our survival requires that we evolve into a species who could never use the destructive weapons we have created. And here we sit once again filled with anxiety as those in power wage war.

Our shadow is on display, and it is up to us to own and transform this hate through the power of love, community, and action.”

There’s depth in this song. You can hear that. There’s depth in the videos that comes with it. You can see that. There’s depth in everything that Mabilene does and I feel like you can really feel that throughout this absolute stunner of a track.

“Sycamore Tree” is from Mabilene’s new album ‘Storm Born’ which is out now!