New Music: Polhawan – No Sweat

I’m not sure if the upcoming Polhawan EP Wild Mountain Time is a play on the title of a folk standard, but I can’t wait to find out its influence on the music.

Featured song No Sweat has a breathtaking mix of folk, indie, and kosmische musik courtesy of the eclectic tastes of Polhawan, aka Tim Rowing-Parker. The track itself has an air of (un)reality TV, and expresses that via an arrangement that finds itself somewhere between Fairport Convention, Can, and Parquet Courts. When listening to No Sweat, I felt like I was watching 1970s TV, a dizzying mix of muted and bright colours tumbling forth with lyrics that are like a stream of consciousness.

“After a few years living in the country, I moved back to the city, and honestly, it kinda freaked me out,” he reveals about the song’s formative moments. “To take the edge off the train station each morning, I’d block out the noise with headphones, and for some reason this led to listening to loads of supernatural podcasts.”

“It’s quite funny that people recounting the scariest shit that has ever happened to them seemed more comforting to me than existing alongside fellow commuters in the light of day. It was during this time, late one evening, I wrote No Sweat in a stream of consciousness in about 20 minutes. Turns out it’s about some people heading back to a friend’s after the pub, only to realise the place is haunted. You’d think you’d warn people before inviting them back.”

No Sweat can be heard on Bandcamp and Spotify, while Wild Mountain Time is due for release on the 14th May via Bristol’s Breakfast Records.