You know how drummers are — always in a million bands, as sturdy a backbone to their scene at-large as they are to the many people they play with. That's how Jonathan Pappo might be known to fans of Toronto acts such as Hooded Fang, Ducks Ltd., No Frills and Lee Paradise, but what they might not know is that he has been quietly releasing solo music as Context, NA and starting a label, Remains Records. Now, Pappo has announced the project's third album, Out of This World, is to be released on October 7 via Remains.
Out of This World is a sprawling and noisy take on folk music in the vein of Phil Elverum and Cindy Lee, while Pappo sings about art, creation and community. The album promises a fusion of disparate parts into a whole that's not necessarily cohesive, but one that honours its multifaceted nature while standing as a single body of work — not unlike a community itself. (As Pappo said in a press release, "Obviously the record is all over the place, but I like that.")
Lead single "Pure Life®" is seven-and-a-half minutes of sheer atmosphere, oscillating between sparse, hush-voiced verses and crushing post-rock breakdowns. Lyrically, Pappo grapples with the idea of a greater good in the face of individual ambitions, opening with a repeated plea of "I don't want to hurt anyone / But I have to if I want to live." Other lyrics hint at references to climate change ("Why is the body of water depleted? / Teeth black, the eyes retreating / Individual, your blood is ugly / Now your friends will die"), as does the song's title, taken from the brand name of Nestlé's bottled water.
These ideas are further emphasized by the accompanying music video, directed by Natalie Logan. It stars Pappo as a prospector clad in a tattered yellow rain jacket, searching in a lush, green forest for a buried plastic bottle. His jubilant love affair with the object — complete with gorgeously choreographed dance sequence — is quickly rocked by the infectious, non-biodegradable consequences.
Watch the "Pure Life®" video below, and keep scrolling for more information on Out of This World. Out of This World follows previous Context, NA albums aura absence access (2020) and Collapse (2018).
Out of This World:
1. Dawn (Song for BPMC1)
2. Pure Life®
3. Body of Land, for Ana
4. Curtain
5. Culminate (date 12.1.19)
6. The Gate
7. Take
8. In This Light
9. Bruise
10. Origins
11. Oath
12. Out of This World
Out of This World is available for pre-order.
Out of This World is a sprawling and noisy take on folk music in the vein of Phil Elverum and Cindy Lee, while Pappo sings about art, creation and community. The album promises a fusion of disparate parts into a whole that's not necessarily cohesive, but one that honours its multifaceted nature while standing as a single body of work — not unlike a community itself. (As Pappo said in a press release, "Obviously the record is all over the place, but I like that.")
Lead single "Pure Life®" is seven-and-a-half minutes of sheer atmosphere, oscillating between sparse, hush-voiced verses and crushing post-rock breakdowns. Lyrically, Pappo grapples with the idea of a greater good in the face of individual ambitions, opening with a repeated plea of "I don't want to hurt anyone / But I have to if I want to live." Other lyrics hint at references to climate change ("Why is the body of water depleted? / Teeth black, the eyes retreating / Individual, your blood is ugly / Now your friends will die"), as does the song's title, taken from the brand name of Nestlé's bottled water.
These ideas are further emphasized by the accompanying music video, directed by Natalie Logan. It stars Pappo as a prospector clad in a tattered yellow rain jacket, searching in a lush, green forest for a buried plastic bottle. His jubilant love affair with the object — complete with gorgeously choreographed dance sequence — is quickly rocked by the infectious, non-biodegradable consequences.
Watch the "Pure Life®" video below, and keep scrolling for more information on Out of This World. Out of This World follows previous Context, NA albums aura absence access (2020) and Collapse (2018).
Out of This World:
1. Dawn (Song for BPMC1)
2. Pure Life®
3. Body of Land, for Ana
4. Curtain
5. Culminate (date 12.1.19)
6. The Gate
7. Take
8. In This Light
9. Bruise
10. Origins
11. Oath
12. Out of This World
Out of This World is available for pre-order.
