Lemuria's 'Sliver Of Change' Is Sweet Comfort For The Restless

Enlarge this image toggle caption Riel Sturchio/Courtesy of the artist Riel Sturchio/Courtesy of the artist

While independent bands don't quite have the ability to make the earth stand still like Queen Bey — we all fall short of the glory, etc. — one lesson learned from the surprise-album release is how an artist and a fan trust each other. Album announcements, artwork announcements, teasers for single premieres, the actual premiere, a video for the same single, a teaser for the second single — you can understand why some artists who have been at this a while would rather skip the industry cycle and go direct.

Based in Buffalo, New York, but with members stretched across America, Lemuria has engendered lots of goodwill with its fans for a decade and change. The indie-rock trio has played this game a few times already, offering "secret" releases as pre-orders that turned out be early demos and outtakes pressed to vinyl. But for its follow-up to 2013's immediately catchy and warm The Distance Is So Big, Lemuria decided its next secret release would be Recreational Hate, the band's new album. Some fans got copies yesterday, with more expected to arrive this week.

For the rest of us who slept on the pre-order, here's an opportunity to catch up. Before the album comes out digitally this Friday, take a listen to "Sliver Of Change." It is quintessentially Lemuria, with hooks that fit like fuzzy mittens and vocal lines traded between guitarist Sheena Ozzella and drummer Alex Kerns: "I see a sliver of change, a pin dot of rearranging / Everything, everything stays the same," Ozzella sings, sounding more self-assured than ever. But where Lemuria took hard lefts with its hooks before, delicately complex acoustic guitar and droning organ flutter and flit here in an arrangement that responds to the song's lyrical restlessness with care.

Recreational Hate comes out digitally Dec. 15 via Turbo Worldwide, with a vinyl repress for retail in February. You can read the letter included with fans' copies of the album below: