The Next Great American Novelist is an indie rock band from NYC. Songwriter and band leader Sean Cahill began writing songs at age 12, listening to Pedro The Lion, NOFX, and Ben Folds Five on his Walkman in the rainy town of Bainbridge Island, Washington. At age 13, he began playing in venues in the Pacific Northwest as a punk-rock drummer. At 16, Sean developed a love for writing songs on acoustic guitar in the vein of Elliott Smith and his painfully vulnerable style.
After moving to New York City, Sean paired with Jason Cummings (in-house producer of the Cutting Room Studios) to release his first LP, I’ll See You In The Art You Love, in 2014. Sean and Jason formed a band and began to play the NY Metro area as they developed and composed rock songs focused on tightly woven three-part harmonies. The band was asked to headline a concert at The Rose Bowl in Los Angeles for a JDRF event in 2015.
Sean and Jason’s partnership opened the door for a new, psych-inspired sound that eschews the dirt and grime of the city for vocal harmonies and a dose of pop. As suggested in the band’s regal name, the lyrics purvey an impressive literariness and focus on storytelling. The band will release their sophomore LP, Careless Moon, in September 2020.
What is the song you’re listening to most these days?
I am listening almost exclusively to Deerhoof’s new album (especially the title track), Future Teenage Cave Artists, as well as the mid-tempo, country ballad, “Deeper than the Holler,” sung by Randy Travis (1988). It’s a feel-good tune for any pandemic.
Why does this song speak to you? What feelings do you get from it?
Future Teenage Cave Artists speaks to me because it’s a science-fiction song about a couple of kids who carve their names into a tree, paint animals onto cave walls and get into some good old trouble (only it’s in the future). I love the idea of future nostalgia, the idea of someone longing for a time that hasn’t happened yet. I also like the concept that human experience is something that is uniform. In other words, the stuff I feel is gonna be the same stuff that someone else feels, but later.
What about the artist interests you? What about the song’s production stands out to you/hooks you?
As for the Randy Travis song, its a well-built, bubble-level tested country banger, and if you sing it really loud as you drive around in an orange Subaru that your aunt lent you, it will disinfect the air of COVID.
Deerhoof has interested me since my mind exploded after listening to the song “The Perfect Me” from Friend Opportunity. They play with meter in a way that is disorienting and super satisfying. Any time they release something new (there have been 20 albums since 1994), I try to digest it as soon as possible. Their new album is a masterpiece, and I am still trying to figure it out. I was humbled to find out that a significant portion of it was recorded using an internal microphone on a laptop.
What are you working on that you’d like us to plug?
I’d love if people would take a listen to my new single, “Kubler“.
