New Music - Churches, "Save Me"

It's no secret that around these parts we love Caleb Nichols.  In fact, we love him so much, we've released two records by his band Grand Lake over the past two years on our own record label!  So when we got word from Caleb that he had started a new recording project called Churches, we got more than a little stoked.

After having spend the last 6 months on the road with the likes of WATERS and Release The Songbird, Caleb returned to the west coast with newfound inspiration and headed into the studio with some of his tourmates to get the new material committed to tape.  The result is two incarnations of the track "Save Me", one the "original" and one the "remix".

From the first moment the track is unmistakably Nichols, with his well hones vocals diving into a strong vocal over a twangy guitar.  However, the chorus is where things really get mixed up a bit.  Clearly the time on the road has been feeding some of Caleb's love of balls to the wall rock, and it shows.  The chorus is an epic cacophony of distortion and crashing symbols, while at the same time staying true to the song's melodic potential.  We likey.

The remix, by stark contrast, is almost unrecognizable as the original.  Drenched in sped up vocals and looped beats, it's exactly what a remix should be:  awesome in its own way, and begging to be listened to just as much (if not more) than its seed.  Combine that with a vibe that is simultaneously 80's retro and futuristic in one breath, and well, we're sold.

On top of all the musical goodness, Nichols has taken a unique perspective on releasing the track: in addition to falling under the "name your price" model, half of all Churches proceeds will go directly to 826 Seattle, the Pacific Northwest version of Dave Eggers' awesomely lovable tutoring charity.  We've posted the track below, because we think you need to hear it, but if you find yourself, we highly recommend ponying up a bug or two for such a worthwhile cause.  Not to mention some damn awesome tunage.

mp3: Churches - Save Me