The song that inspired Weyes Blood to be a musician: “It was so out there and dreamlike”
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(Credits: Far Out / Press)
Out of every indie artist working today, Weyes Blood feels like a relic from the 1970s that just happened to not get her start until the 2020s. From the first notes of an album like Titanic Rising, it often feels like you’re getting songs that are midway between artists like Carole King, The Carpenters, and Lana Del Rey, depending on which part of the track you’re actually listening to. Although Natalie Mering puts every piece of her creative upbringing into each of her albums, it wasn’t until she heard Syd Barrett’s ‘Terrapin’ that she started to understand what she wanted to do.
Then again, Barrett’s post-Pink Floyd career tends to be hit-and-miss with many rock fans. There are still pieces of brilliance to be found in every one of his songs, but it would make sense for anyone not to want to listen to it due to Barrett slowly losing grip on his own sanity in the ears following the release of the albums.
Still, Barrett’s works are about celebrating the mind that he had when he was still with us, and ‘Terrapin’ might be one of the greatest solo outings made by a former member of Pink Floyd. Despite having a few (understandably) rough edges, this feels like the love child between pop and prog that Barrett had been aiming for when making most of the songs on The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
There is a touch of sadness hearing him sounding this creative, knowing that everything was about to crash, but ‘Terrapin’ captures the sound of what it feels like to be lost in your own creativity and actually have something to show for it. Any artist can understand that feeling, and when Mering heard it, she knew that she wanted to have that kind of freedom when making music.
Speaking with TIDAL, Mering said that she immediately needed to know how Barrett the song together, saying, “I learned it immediately. It was so out there and dreamlike that I realised music didn’t have to be beefed up on steroidal energy to be effective. On the contrary, it could be clumsy and human and become even more relatable.”
Although half of all mainstream songs are about getting that one magical take until everything sounds pristine, some of the best moments from Mering’s albums are about appreciating the little sonic artefacts that are left in the mix. In a piece like ‘Movies’, hearing those subtle piano flourishes feels like you’re watching her perform an intimate set, even with all the added effects around her.
Barrett should also be commended for letting generations of musicians embrace their weirdness. Outside of just Mering, Barrett practically was the template for David Bowie turning himself into something more surreal, and Pink Floyd probably wouldn’t have had the drive to make something like The Wall without him coming first, either.
Whereas Weyes Blood has garnered a fanbase known for loving the intricacies of her songs, it’s all about trying to make something that feels human. It might not be perfect, but no artist is, so you might as well try to create something that’s true to yourself rather than try to please someone else.
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