(SOUNDBITE OF LO MOON SONG, "LOVELESS")
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Lo Moon is an indie pop trio that sings songs that capture specific stages in a romantic relationship. They're one of three artists selected for Slingshot, a new emerging artist project by public radio stations and NPR Music. The band's first single, "Loveless," is a plea to restart a couple's love and trust. Lo Moon's members learn to trust each other as the song evolved.
(SOUNDBITE OF LO MOON SONG, "LOVELESS")
MATT LOWELL: I'm Matt - Matt Lowell - songwriter, guitar player of Lo Moon.
(SOUNDBITE OF LO MOON SONG, "LOVELESS")
LOWELL: I had moved back from Boston to New York. I was living at my sister's place. I was working at this studio in Brooklyn that I helped build. And I started writing in a basement a bunch of songs with a friend of mine. And then one of those songs became "Loveless."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LOVELESS")
LOWELL: (Singing) Crosses in the distance. Bells ring fast.
CRISANTA BAKER: I'm Crisanta Baker. I play keyboards, bass.
(SOUNDBITE OF LO MOON SONG, "LOVELESS")
BAKER: Yeah. It was incredible the first time I heard it, I was, like, screaming. And everyone in the other room was, like, what is going on in there? Because it was, like, the big fills came in. I was just excited because it sounded like Phil Collins.
(SOUNDBITE OF LO MOON SONG, "LOVELESS")
SAM STEWART: I am Sam Stewart. And I play guitar. And, yeah, I remember when I heard the demo - immediately was attracted to the groove because it reminded me a bit of a Radiohead song...
SIMON: Which one?
STEWART: ...Called "All I Need," which...
SIMON: Yeah. Yeah.
STEWART: ...Is one of my favorite songs.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ALL I NEED")
THOM YORKE: (Singing) You are all I need.
STEWART: So I was just immediately, like, this is great.
LOWELL: That was the inspiration for the beat...
STEWART: Except...
LOWELL: ...Except...
STEWART: ...It got moved.
LOWELL: ...It got moved. So when we were trying to kind of mimic the beat, it got shifted. And then we were like, oh, that's really cool. Let's just leave that.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LOVELESS")
LOWELL: (Singing) Loveless is your answer. Time will pass.
In my backyard, I have a shed that we converted into kind of the band's living room, I would say. It's like, there's gear everywhere and synthesizers and guitars. And that's where we learned how to feed off each other. I mean, we would get in there at 11 a.m. and not say a word to each other until 5 p.m. I think by the time we got into the studio to work on the album, we were comfortable enough by that time to just let it happen. I think because of the time we spent at my place, we were really used to that feeling. This sounds like the band.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LOVELESS")
LOWELL: (Singing) Understand. No relief in silhouettes.
And the beautiful thing about that was when we were making the record, we hadn't put anything out. And so we didn't really know where we sat. We had blinders on, and we just trusted each other. And so when Santa said, Matt, I really like that, or Sam said, I really like that, or I said, that sounds like us. That has the feeling of everybody's emotional state - then we just kind of went with it because we didn't have any other basis to go besides, this sounds like us.
(SOUNDBITE OF LO MOON SONG, "LOVELESS")
LOWELL: When we did finally get Loveless to a place where all of us were inside it - I remember the first time we listened back. We came down really late to listen. And I'll never forget. It came through the speaker, and I was, like, this song's probably 3 and a half, 4 years old, and I've just never heard it like this. I cried. I was just like, this is unbelievable. I can't believe we made this.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LOVELESS")
LOWELL: (Singing) What I was isn't what I want now.
SIMON: That was Matt Lowell, Crisanta Baker and Sam Stewart talking about their song "Loveless." Their band, Lo Moon, is part of Slingshot, a collaboration between NPR Music and public radio stations to highlight emerging artists. This Tuesday, NPR Music will announce 20 new Slingshot artists to watch in 2018. You can learn more at npr.org/slingshot.