Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Helen Ballentine records music under the moniker Skullcrusher, but it doesn’t sound like what you might expect it to. She writes dreamy folk songs fit for Secretly Canadian — who fittingly released her debut EP last year — and today she’s back with another slice of such: a standalone single called “Song for Nick Drake”.
As the title implies, “Song for Nick Drake” is an ode to the late pastoral legend and the visceral memories his music conjures. “‘Song for Nick Drake’ is about my relationship to the music of Nick Drake,” explained Ballentine in a press release. “It recalls moments in my life that are viscerally intertwined with his music, specifically times spent walking and taking the train. The song is really my homage to music and the times I felt most immersed in it.”
In the song’s accompanying music video, Ballentine can be seen traveling around the city and soaking up the different scenery that awaits her. She paces along a train platform, strolls through wintery side streets, and walks down familiar sidewalks. Throughout, scenes are occasionally turned into animated pencil sketches, giving the whole clip the feeling of imagined realism. Watch it below.
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Ballentine has been dropping new Skullcrusher songs left and right recently. After putting out her self-titled EP last summer, she also released a new single called “Farm” and a cover of Radiohead’s track “Lift” in the fall. As of right now, there’s no Skullcrusher record on the way, but considering the momentum Ballentine has been steadily building up this past year, we’re crossing our fingers that she will announce something soon.
