All the lyrics to Long Beard’s new single “Turkeys” fit on a Post-it note, yet each line expands into its own universe of obscured meaning. While the words may make perfect sense to Leslie Bear, the New Brunswick singer-songwriter who wrote them, the fragments she leaves the listener will launch them into a personal voyage to derive meaning.
When “Turkeys” originally appeared on Bear’s split tape with Fraternal Twin it was a home-recorded solo number. A re-recorded, full-band version appears on Bear’s debut, Sleepwalker, out on Team Love Records October 23. The album version ups the production values: Bear’s lilting vocals, which once had to fight tape-hiss to be heard, are now loudest in the mix.
Last month, Bear told Impose “[there are] sad/ dark undertones in my lyrics,” but these subtleties are also apparent in the music. Laconic guitar lines set the scene of a sun setting on the last day of summer. Shadows take over and Bear sighs before settling into the jangly opening riff of “Turkeys”.
You can stream “Turkeys” below, and read Tim Woulfe’s feature profile, Call Me Long Beard, here.
