Produced, mixed and mastered by Eoin Whitfield
Recorded at The Hive Studios, Kilcoole
Drying Weather is Frank Chambers, Dónal Kennedy, Barra McNamara and Conor Timmons
Piano by Aoife Fogarty
Artwork by Conor Walton ("Veiled")
Dublin act Drying Weather reveal a new non-album single, Foreigner for Now, with stunning cover art by Wicklow artist Conor Walton.
The bracing alt-rock cut takes cues from Fleetwood Mac, Oasis and Trail of Dead, and is sure to reverberate down the Royal Canal when it makes its debut at The Bernard Shaw on 11 November (flanked by goth-pop artist Ria Rua and punks Orchid Feeder).
Foreigner for Now follows a character who finds himself on something of a glamorous trip abroad which quickly takes a turn when he realises he can't get back home. The listener gets a front-row seat to the panic and uncertainty he's feeling, but ultimately acceptance of the situation and commitment to make the best of it.
Recorded with longtime producer Eoin Whitfield (Enemies) in beautiful County Wicklow, the song is the last in a series of non-album singles from the band, released one day before the band’s biggest-ever Dublin show at The Racket Space underneath The Bernard Shaw in Phibsborough.
Singer Dónal Kennedy remains tight-lipped about the specific origin of the lyrics, preferring to leave the identity of the song’s narrator a mystery:
Kennedy said,
“As you may be able to tell from the lyrics, Foreigner for Now harks back to a time when someone could very easily be left stranded somewhere by circumstances beyond their control if they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Maybe our hero in Foreigner for Now is a particular person, or maybe he’s an amalgam of a few people, but his experience is something we can all relate to: he’s stuck in an unfamiliar place outside his comfort zone and needs to decide if he’s going to dwell on the negative or put his big boy pants on and make the most of it.
“As always, Eoin Whitfield did an amazing job building a wall of sound brick by brick with this track, and the full-on, Owen Morris-esque production really compliments the overwhelming emotions the character in the song is feeling. Given that his band Enemies have just made their triumphant return, we’re especially grateful that Eoin continues to put so much care and attention into his production work.”
lyrics
I said yes
Before I even read the script
I was stuck my head back then and I could use a trip
Feel that air
Like a refrigerated kiss
Suburban sweetness, I could get used to this
Before the cameras rolled
The rest were told to go
And now the last plane's gone
And left me all alone
Hide out
Inside
Thoughts swimming across my mind
A super valuable time
Hide out
Inside
A foreigner for now
I don't want to choose
Between a carpet and a bed of sand
I've been paddling away from the apocalypse on dry land
Before I left the house she said "we're coming too"
And now the last plane's gone
And left us on the moon
Hide out
Inside
Thoughts swimming across my mind
A super valuable time
Hide out
Inside
A foreigner for now
Why you giving me a photograph to sign?
You're too close
Man it's dangerous
Am I ever going to get back to my life?
Put paid to this paid vacation
But for now I've got to hide out
Inside
Thoughts swimming across my mind
A super valuable time
Hide out
Inside
A foreigner for now