The word ‘bleed’ has a myriad of definitions. There’s the one that means blood from the body from injury or illness, of course. Then there's the iteration which means to flow, run, seep, filter, or leach. It can also be used in reference to draining, sapping, depleting, and exhausting. So you see, in nearly of its denotations, the verb is very fitting, and can be employed interchangeably to describe the action and reaction of anguish inducing love. That's how Captain Kidd, a self-described indie-pop alt-dance quartet from Ohio, use the term in their languid and longing latest single, "Bleed," premiering exclusively today with EARMILK.
Stew Weinland, Nathan Baumgard, Erica Blaha, and Nick Samson are known for the tampering with synthesizers, giving what would be a typical indie ballad a dance like and psychedelic quality, and "Bleed" tightropes between balanced beats and despairing dance notes with ease.
It starts with the nostalgia of a cassette being turned then clicked in to a stereo on its b-side then rolls into a forlorn appreciation for a life with someone the way it could only be then, and no longer now, with heart pang worthy lyrics, "Last night I saw the future / Tangled in your hair like a bad dream / A dirty hallelujah / When your room looked the same as we left things."
In speaking about the motivation for the track, singer and guitarist Nathan Baumgard shared with EARMILK, "Bleed" was the product of a weekend-long cabin getaway to middle of nowhere southern Ohio. We initially went to the cabin to work on a couple of existing ideas we had been struggling with, but ended up writing several new ideas via some impromptu jam sessions, one of which turned into this track. We wanted "Bleed" to feel nostalgic, like a fond look back on some forgotten, perfect summer day that really never existed except in our memory of it."
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