Ben Littlejohn and Dennis Sager, otherwise known as Bent Denim, have shared the second single from their forthcoming album Town and Country, out on May 11th. “Idiot” is an emotive and starkly honest account of childhood.
In Littlejohn’s own words; “The song is a riff on the theme of losing your childlike sense of wonder. Growing up and realizing that you kinda fit yourself into a box and using things to dull the emotions that come out because of that. I’m sure most people at some point at had long hair and zits.
“The song started with that ethereal ’80s synth and it grew from there. I put a lot of things through a vintage Shure level loc compressor that i found at the Nashville flea market. It’s an esoteric piece of studio gear that has achieved cult status for f*cking up sounds in a very musical and positive way.
“I was also able to use my family’s old upright player piano at the very end of the song – it allegedly came out of a saloon. It has an almost tack piano quality and is super nostalgic for me because its the piano I grew up messing around on and playing Beatles songs from old player rolls.”
Listen to “Idiot” below: