Helen Ballentine has announced the next project under her Skullcrusher banner. The Storm in Summer EP drops April 9th via Secretly Canadian, and has released the title track as an early preview.
The five-track follow-up to her 2020 Skullcrusher EP finds Ballentine reeling from the spotlight after experiencing some unexpected success. As she explained in a statement,
“I wrote ‘Storm in Summer’ after releasing the first Skullcrusher EP. Over that summer I thought a lot about what it means to really put myself out there and share something personal. I felt so vulnerable and overwhelmed by the fact that these songs I had written in private were exposed and likely being misinterpreted or disliked. I think the song really tries to communicate these anxieties in a cathartic way while also leaning more into the beauty of relinquishing part of myself.”
The song begins with a kind of sonic disassociation: A banjo played by Noah Weinman seems to come to the listener from a great distance, as if your next-door neighbor played it on the radio. But after a few seconds, everything comes crashing into place. “And I wonder if I go back home,” Ballentine sings, “Can I hide away?/ Or if I step into the storm/ Is it warm?/ Will I find my place?” The track comes with a music video that shows Ballentine staring out of a rainy window, and you can watch it below.
Editors’ Picks
Previously, Skullcrusher shared the lead single from the Storm in Summer EP, “Song for Nick Drake”.
Storm in Summer EP Tracklist:
01. Windshield
02. Songs for Nick Drake
03. Steps
04. Storm in Summer
05. Prefer
