Coco Columbia: Photo by Jason QuigleyI've always had a sneaking suspicion that Coco Columbia was some kind of aquatic life form. With her seashell bikini top and her cartoonishly colored hair, this mythical Portland artist is back with her latest siren song—also the second offering from her second record, When the Birds Begin to Walk, due out on August 17. (Watch the video for the album's first single here.)
With "Coveted Creatures," I now have proof. As Columbia singsongs the track's lyrics with an almost Disney-like flair, she describes:
Songs of sirens lead you to,
The ocean's edge, where one can breathe the,
Salty air that whips about,
The feathered hair of scaled ladies.
"I've always found myself and others attracted to what isn't real," Columbia explains. "Everyone loves the ideas of mythical creatures, magic, fantasy, UFOs, ghosts... We love the thought that there is something else out there. This song goes out to the dudes who spend their lives chasing Bigfoot in the woods and the women who never stop dressing like fairies. It also goes out to the earth's creatures that we know for a fact do exist—the ones that we treat like shit. I think as humans, we could do a lot better to live in harmony with other creatures. I hope this song appeals to angsty vegans like myself."
Recorded at Supernatural Sound and Dead Aunt Thelma's Studio with Columbia on vocals and keys, Grant Sayler on guitar, Sacha Muller on guitar, Alex Meltzer on bass, Micah Hummel on drums, and David Kim on synths, "I wrote this song after a Kate Bush binge," Columbia says. "I was influenced by the fantastical vibe of her songs. I took it to the band, it was rehashed, reworked. We recorded it." It was produced and mixed by Columbia and Muller, then mastered by Dana White at Specialized Mastering.
