Mary Lattimore – The Withdrawing Room

Heavyweight black vinyl with cover design by Chris Koelle…

Seek solace. Be still and drift. Withdraw and be there. There. Inside. A chair awaits. A beginning built from an ending, from leaving, from afar. In times such as these, The Withdrawing Room is a safe haven to leave behind all that weighs heavily and surrounds us. We remark how comfortable the chair is, how exquisite the view is outside the window, the aroma, the breaths to be taken as you become aware of the minutia all around you and the sounds emanating from Mary Lattimore’s harp, warming your feet, your hands, your heart. Breathe. Previous collaborations have seen Mary matching wits with such esteemed luminaries as Thurston Moore, Meg Baird, Kurt Vile, Ed Askew, Fursaxa, and Jarvis Cocker. But for this debut work, Mary sequestered herself in a room, much like this one, to kindle three distinct works for keeping the listener company as he or she enjoys the view. The nuanced notes of the harp strings sing and reverberate amid subtle electronics courtesy of Jeff Zeigler on the 24-minute long piece “You’ll Be Fiiinnne;” “Pluto the Planet” meanders at a slow and steady pace as the sun makes its way across the sky and the gentle plucks of the silk and steel resonate within, beyond; the closing chaos of “Poor Daniel” charts a recklessness that embraces the listener as he or she quietly makes their way out of the room to tackle the world anew.