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Wharfer – “Crumble” (audio) (Premiere)

The nostalgic and pensive indie folk of Wharfer's tune "Crumble" is an enticing preview of what's to come on his new full-length, Acadia.

Wharfer’s new tune “Crumble” is the best kind of bittersweet. The tune is a sepia-tinted reminiscence led by acoustic guitar that’s accented with plinking piano notes and a pensive fiddle coda. With a gravelly voice Kyle Wall, the brains behind the Wharfer name, sings of the paradoxes of moving on from a difficult time: “A lie is why my smile thrives” is later contrasted with “A lie is why my smile fades”.

A lyrically evocative track that’s complemented by its nostalgic music, “Crumble” comes from Wharfer’s forthcoming LP, Acadia. The ten-track album includes contributions from recent collaborators of Sinkane, David Byrne, Lewis & Clarke, and Stephane Wrembel, in addition to sonic finishing touches from Josh Bonati (Sufjan Stevens, Mac Demarco, Phosphorescent). Three of the musicians on “Crumble” (Roy Williams, Shane O’Hara, and Ian O’Hara) come from the Scranton, Philadelphia band the Minor White, which also featured Wall (the group disbanded in 2010).

Wall tells PopMatters, “‘Crumble’ follows a sort of hazy, lingering tension and much clearer catharsis, lyrically and musically. Two of my oldest Scranton friends and bandmates, Roy Williams and Shane O’Hara (who also masterfully produced and mixed this whole record) serve as the song’s guts on bass and drums, respectively, while Texas fiddle pro Austin Smith and Ian O’Hara, who plays banjo in Scranton’s great Coal Town Rounders, bookend it beautifully. It’s certainly a weird one, but it is one of two big turning points on this record, and I’ve been anxious to get it in people’s ears.”

Acadia is out on 30 June.