This Thread Is a Green Street

Last updated

"This Thread Is a Green Street"
Single by The Innocence Mission
from the album Midwinter Swimmers
ReleasedSeptember 3, 2024 (2024-09-03)
Length2:57
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Karen Peris
  • Don Peris
Producer(s) The Innocence Mission
The Innocence Mission singles chronology
"The Brothers William Said"
(2020)		"This Thread Is a Green Street"
(2024)
Music video
"This Thread Is a Green Street" on YouTube

"This Thread Is a Green Street" is a single by American alternative band The Innocence Mission, released as the first single from their thirteenth studio album Midwinter Swimmers on September 3, 2024. The song was written by Karen and Don Peris, with Karen also creating an animated music video for the song.

Contents

Composition and recording

The song was written by Karen Peris alongside her husband Don Peris. It is the only song on Midwinter Swimmers to be co-written by Don, as Karen was the sole composer of the rest of the album. [1] Karen said the lyrics of "This Thread Is a Green Street" were inspired by the "transportive quality of scenes we might come upon in the natural world, or even in everyday objects", saying that "a sewing thread when I'm mending something could remind me of a street map." She elaborated that she was "envisioning the landscape as a world of doorways that might allow us to locate memory or to be nearer in some way to people we miss." [2] Karen related this lyrical concept to the recording of the song, saying that during the recording the band were seeking to "find the half-remembered beauty of sing-alongs of our 1970s childhoods. There's a search in recording that goes on being elusive, in a good way." [2]

Release and promotion

"This Thread Is a Green Street" was issued as the first single from Midwinter Swimmers, as a one-track digital download and streaming single on September 3, 2024. [2] [3] That same day, a "hand-stitched" animated music video was released, directed by Karen. [1] [4] BrooklynVegan described the video as Karen using "ideas of sewing, stitching together backgrounds from maps, cloth swatches as the world of doorways and a photo of the 1964 World's Fair taken by her father. There are people moving through them, along with lyrics that appear as diagrammed sentences. It's a video that is as evocative of that early-'70s feel Peris describes – not unlike what she imagined on 2021 solo album A Song Is Way Above the Lawn – and you could imagine this as part of a PBS children's series back then." [2]

Critical reception

BrooklynVegan called the song "gorgeous". [2] Stereogum said the song "casts a dreamy, pastoral spell", [1] while Goldflakepaint said the song was "Subtly captivating, Karen's voice a dewy fog on a bright morning, it feels both gleaming and like something unearthed, glitter in the soil." [5] Paste listed it as one of the best songs released that week, [6] as did Pitchfork . [7]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the description section of the song's official YouTube music video. [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>Ophelia</i> (album) 1998 studio album by Natalie Merchant

Ophelia is the second studio album by the American singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant, released on May 19, 1998, by Elektra Records. The album was supported by the singles "Kind & Generous" and "Break Your Heart", with the former being the most successful single of the album, reaching the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay Chart. "Break Your Heart" also received single and video treatment. These and the other videos from the album, plus three from Tigerlily, were gathered on a Warner Music Vision home video, also entitled Ophelia. "I love the opportunity to flex my thespian muscle," Merchant quips on it. The album became Merchant's only top ten hit on the Billboard 200, where it peaked at number eight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Innocence Mission</span> American musical group

The Innocence Mission is an American indie folk band formed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1986. The band's current members are Karen Peris, her husband Don Peris, and Mike Bitts. Although all members have contributed to the composition of the band's music, Karen Peris is the main writer.

<i>Birds of My Neighborhood</i> 1999 studio album by The Innocence Mission

Birds of My Neighborhood is the fourth studio album by the Innocence Mission. Released in 1999 on Kneeling Elephant, a sub-label of RCA, the album was out of print until Badman Recording acquired the license to remaster and reissue it in 2006.

<i>Small Planes</i> 2001 studio album by The Innocence Mission

Small Planes, subtitled Lost and Found Songs: 1996–2001, is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock band The Innocence Mission, released on September 25, 2001 by What Are Records?. It consists of new and previously unreleased songs recorded by the band following the release of their 1995 album Glow. The album was released to positive reviews, with several publications describing it as an "outtake" album that contains better material than the primary work of most other bands. Small Planes was issued on vinyl for the first time on November 3, 2021. The vinyl featured an alternate track listing and the song "A Thousand Miles", which had been excluded from the original release.

<i>We Walked in Song</i> 2007 studio album by The Innocence Mission

We Walked in Song is the eighth studio album by the Innocence Mission. It was released in North America on March 13, 2007 by Badman Recording Co., with a vinyl edition containing the bonus track "Shooting Star (Sketch)" following a week later on March 20. All international versions of the album include the bonus track.

The discography of American alternative rock band The Innocence Mission consists of twelve studio albums, two compilation album, two releases issued for free download, five EPs, seventeen singles, ten music videos, and numerous appearances on soundtrack, tribute and sampler albums. The band have had their songs included on over a hundred different compilations and soundtracks, with many of those including the same select few songs. Therefore, only compilations and soundtracks which featured exclusive or otherwise rare content have been included. Also included on this list are their various solo albums and collaborations with other recording artists.

<i>My Room in the Trees</i> 2010 studio album by The Innocence Mission

My Room in the Trees is the ninth studio album by the Innocence Mission, released July 13, 2010 by Badman Recording Company.

<i>Cerulean Salt</i> 2013 studio album by Waxahatchee

Cerulean Salt is the second studio album by American indie musician Waxahatchee, released on March 5, 2013, on Don Giovanni Records. Co-produced by Swearin' members, Kyle Gilbride and Keith Spencer, the album was recorded in primary recording artist Katie Crutchfield's basement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autre Ne Veut</span> Musical artist

Arthur Ashin, known professionally as Autre Ne Veut, is an American singer-songwriter and musician from New York City.

<i>Hello I Feel the Same</i> 2015 studio album by The Innocence Mission

Hello I Feel the Same is the tenth studio album by American alternative band The Innocence Mission. It was released on October 16, 2015, via Korda Records, a cooperative record label founded by The Ocean Blue, a band with whom the Innocence Mission formed a "long and deep friendship that goes back to some of each band's first shows in Pennsylvania and their major label debut records on Sire and A&M". An edition on translucent green vinyl was released from early January 2016. It is their first studio album since 2010's My Room in the Trees, making five years the longest gap between studio albums in their career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guerilla Toss</span> American art rock band

Guerilla Toss is an American rock band, formed in Boston in 2011. Now based in New York City, the group currently consists of singer Kassie Carlson, drummer Peter Negroponte, guitarist Arian Shafiee, keyboardist Jake Lichter, and bassist Zach Lewellyn. Guerilla Toss has released five studio albums, seven EPs, and three remix albums, on various underground labels, DFA Records and more recently on Sub Pop. They were listed in Rolling Stone magazine as one of the "10 Great Modern Punk Bands" and Henry Rollins has called them "one of the first great bands of the new century".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Still Breathing (Green Day song)</span> 2016 single by Green Day

"Still Breathing" is a song by American rock band Green Day from their twelfth studio album, Revolution Radio (2016). Written and produced by the band, the lyrics explore the idea of overcoming adversity in the face of hardship. "Still Breathing" is a pop-punk song with a pop-like production, which has been stylistically considered a return to form for the band.

<i>Sun on the Square</i> 2018 studio album by The Innocence Mission

Sun on the Square is the eleventh studio album by American alternative band The Innocence Mission, released in the United States via Badman Recording Co. and in Japan by P-Vine Records on June 29, 2018, with a European release following one week later on Bella Union. The record is available for streaming via Badman's official SoundCloud channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ft. Frank Turner</span> 2019 single by The Armed

"Ft. Frank Turner" is a non-album single by the American hardcore band The Armed featuring archived vocal tracks of folk punk musician Frank Turner. The song was posted online for streaming exclusively at Adult Swim on June 5, 2019 as a part of Williams Street Records' Adult Swim Singles series. The following day, the song was made available on most major digital streaming sites through Sargent House. The Armed announced they had signed with the label coinciding with the release of "Ft. Frank Turner". Turner claims he did not authorize use of his vocal tracks for the song and was surprised by the release. The single's cover art features Frank Carter of Gallows, Pure Love and Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes.

<i>See You Tomorrow</i> (album) 2020 studio album by The Innocence Mission

See You Tomorrow is the twelfth studio album by American alternative band The Innocence Mission, released on January 17, 2020, by Bella Union in Europe and Australia and by Thérèse Records in the United States and Canada.

<i>A Song Is Way Above the Lawn</i> 2021 studio album by Karen Peris

A Song Is Way Above the Lawn is the second solo album by Karen Peris, lead vocalist and songwriter of American alternative rock band the Innocence Mission. The album was released worldwide on October 8, 2021, via Bella Union.

<i>My Anti-Aircraft Friend</i> 2024 studio album by Julie

My Anti-Aircraft Friend is the debut studio album by American shoegaze band Julie. It was released on September 13, 2024, through Atlantic Records. It was supported by three singles: "Catalogue", "Clairbourne Practice", and "Very Little Effort".

<i>Midwinter Swimmers</i> 2024 album by The Innocence Mission

Midwinter Swimmers is the upcoming thirteenth studio album by American alternative rock band The Innocence Mission, set to be released on November 25, 2024, by Bella Union in Europe and by Thérèse Records in the United States and Canada.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Breihan, Tom (September 3, 2024). "The Innocence Mission – 'This Thread Is A Green Street'". Stereogum . Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Pearis, Bill (September 3, 2024). "The Innocence Mission announce new album, share "This Thread Is A Green Street"". BrooklynVegan . Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  3. ↑ Bonner, Michael (September 4, 2024). "the innocence mission share new track, 'This Thread Is a Green Street'". Uncut . Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  4. ↑ Parkinson, Richard (September 5, 2024). "The Innocence Mission to issue first album in four years". Americana UK. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  5. ↑ Johnson, Tom (September 5, 2024). "the innocence mission - This Thread Is A Green Street". Goldflakepaint. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  6. ↑ "This Week's Best New Songs". Paste . September 5, 2024. Archived from the original on September 6, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  7. ↑ Pitchfork Staff (September 9, 2024). "Jane Remover, Niontay, Laila!, and More: This Week's Pitchfork Selects Playlist". Pitchfork . Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  8. ↑ "This Thread Is A Green Street - the innocence mission". YouTube. September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.