Listen: Stephen Brodsky (Mutoid Man, Cave In, Old Man Gloom) and Marissa Nadler Team Up for Droneflower

Stephen Brodsky is nothing if not multifaceted. Between Cave In, Mutoid Man, New Idea Society, and now Old Man Gloom, the dude practically has a project to fit every mood.

And yet, if “For the Sun” is any indication, Brodsky still has new creative depths to mine. The first single from Droneflower, a collaboration with singer and multi-instrumentalist Marissa Nadler, sounds like nothing else for which Brodsky is known. (Full confession: I wasn’t familiar with Nadler before now, but I’m listening to some of her stuff as I write this, and Droneflower seems like a real change of pace for her as well.) As you can probably guess from the title, it’s considerably more depressive and, well, drone-y than his other work. Now, personally, I tend to associate droning with tedium, but this song is haunting and, frankly, goddamn beautiful. It’s certainly repetitive the way drone tends to be, but it doesn’t go on for seven hours and never loses the thread of its ethereal melody; it’s more Chelsea Wolfe than Sunn O))). Pieces of it even have a sci-fi B-movie feel to it. It won’t be the heaviest thing you hear today, but I guarantee it will stay with you.

Droneflower comes out April 16 on Sacred Bones, and can be pre-ordered here. In addition to “For the Sun” and seven other original tracks, the album includes two covers: one of Morphine’s “In Spite of You,” complete with a guest appearance by Morphine saxophonist Dana Colley, and one of “Estranged” by Guns N’ Roses. I’m chomping at the bit to hear that second one.

The duo also have some live dates coming up, which you can grab below.

3/23/19 – Queens, NY @ MoMA PS1 (Come Together)*
6/13/19 – Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus
6/14/19 – Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre
6/15/19 – Allston, MA @ Great Scott
* – Marissa Nadler solo