For Stimmerman (real name Eva Lawitts), Pleasant Vistas In a Somber Place is more than just an album title, it’s a state of mind.
“‘Pleasant vistas in a somber place’ was something a friend of mine (Alex Ricart of the band Antelope King) muttered seemingly to no one in particular on a day off from tour in Richmond, Virginia as we stared over an expanse of land that, despite undoubtedly being the site of some gruesome historical event, was now serene and silent except for the sound of bugs, birds and wind.
As that tour and many subsequent others unfolded, I held that idea of imprinted scenery in my mind- not only about cities and highways traversed but about the heaving, dying tour van from which I had viewed them for the past few years. When the band that had consumed my entire life for a decade and a half disbanded, I was left with a pile of half-written songs, started when I spent all my time in a van and at shows, fetishizing my own sense of isolation, bitterness, and nihilism.
To me, Pleasant Vistas In a Somber Place is about acknowledging this chaotic and infantile period of time, while simultaneously moving past it and building over it.”
Across the EP’s five tracks, Stimmerman realizes that fractured mindset with exhilarating compositions that run the gamut from punk to pysch to prog and beyond. Lawitts’ dynamic playing brings emotional heft and complexity to heavy sounds and subject matter making Pleasant Vistas In a Somber Place not just a snapshot, but a breathing portrait of a vivid time and place.
Stream the EP in full below and be sure to follow Stimmerman here for more.
