Anika Pyle has announced a new EP, Four Corners, due February 2. It features one song about each state in the four corners–Colorado (where Anika is originally from), Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah–and Anika says, “Four Corners is a reflection on the American Southwest, the majesty and expansiveness of its landscape, its rich and diverse cultural heritage, and¬–for me–the inherent loneliness of the other ‘home,’ our first home, the one we are born into and do not choose ourselves.”
The EP was recorded and mixed by Matt Schimelfenig (of Gladie, Three Man Cannon, etc), and it features guest vocals from Kiley Lotz (Petal) and Kayleigh Goldsworthy, who also contribute keys and viola/violin, respectively. Other contributors on the album include Lou Hanman (Caves, Worriers, etc), Zack Robbins (Superheaven, Slaughter Beach Dog), Augusta Koch (Gladie), and more.
The first single is “Arizona,” which Anika says “is a contemplation on my first trip to the Grand Canyon. I was on tour in my old band Chumped, on the road with Jeff Rosenstock, and experiencing the slow dissolution of my first love, an 11-year relationship with my high school sweetheart. Staring out at the canyon, I felt that devastating mix of possibility and pain. I knew that ending our relationship was the only way to become truly myself, but I knew that kind of expansion would require an intense amount of heartache and the slow erosion of who I thought I was.”
“Arizona” fits in really nicely with the recent wave of countrified indie rock (Wednesday, Ratboys, Big Thief, etc), and Anika tackles its subject matter with a strong, impassioned delivery that really makes the song’s story hit close to home. Listen below.
Pre-order and read more about the EP at Bandcamp.
