Slake - “Votive”
Photo by Ell Hundertmark
Mary Claire, aka Slake, from California, USA, takes us on a spellbinding journey to search for love with the transcendent indie rock track, “Votive.”
“Votive” is exquisitely melancholic track that is wrapped in a magical sense of fragility. Opening almost like a whispered hymn that any moment could be pushed over the edge into collapse, the skeletal arrangement gains a haunting purpose with the growing intensity of the reflective drum beat and rippling electric guitars. Delicate, deliberate and grounded by the understated pulse of the bass, the composition stirs into what can only be described as a candle lit anthem. The kind a musician would play on guitar in their bedroom in the early hours to an audience of shadows and solitude.
Celestial, divine, in all the right ways, much in the same way Sharon Van Etten imbues the feeling a track has always been part of the universe, the real beauty lies in the breathy, hushed vocals of Slake. Layered in fine harmonies, and rising and falling with a tender, graceful sense of emotion as it expresses desire and pain, the delivery holds the feeling of evocatively drifting over the guitars like a ghostly early morning mist.
“Votive” is an incredible track that holds the feeling of someone truly laying their heart that is broken at the seams bare for the world to see. The track is taken from Slake’s forthcoming album, Let’s Get Married, slated for release June 20th via Cherub Dream Records.