New Music: Ancient Waves – Mississippi Song

Ancient Waves have some surprises in store on Mississippi Song, not least that the video was filmed near St. Paul, Minnesota, not the Deep South.

The name of the song is equally likely to lead to some preconceptions that are quickly and gently disabused. Mississippi Song is indeed focused on the river to an extent, but while it sings of the past, it is far from the blues, mood-wise or musically.

Ancient Waves instead taps into other traditions, the story of a father and daughter spending time exploring nature, making memories, set against some timeless American and indie-rock sounds. The arrangement has a gentleness about it, as warm as a summer’s evening, casual in tone, almost like a bunch of friends hanging out, jamming by the river. But you can’t miss that love beats fiercely in the vocals and lyrics of Ancient Waves’ singer-songwriter Jarad Miles.

“Many of my struggles have involved trying to be a good father, so sharing the beauty and healing feeling of that place with my daughter was something special,” Miles recalls about writing the track, which was written when his daughter was much younger. To amplify that to the listener, the video’s mix of band performance and adventuring the banks and woods of the Mississippi River was co-directed and produced by Miles and his now-sixteen-years-old daughter Willa.

You can listen to Mississippi Song and more tracks from the band’s upcoming self-titled album on Spotify. For album news, check out Ancient Waves on Instagram or Facebook.

Header photo by Molly Miles