Every week, the Milwaukee Music Premiere connects the city’s artists with our listening audience. If you’re an artist with a track you’d like us to debut exclusively on Radio Milwaukee, head over to our Music Submission page to learn how.
There’s a string of sadness that runs through today’s Milwaukee Music Premiere. Maybe not the ideal situation for a day blanketed by clouds in the sky and grey slush on the ground – or maybe Astronaut Husband’s “Cosmic Tragedy” is exactly what we all need.
Let’s cut to the chase: This track is lovely, even if its subject matter is lovelorn (no ironic title here). Talking about the latest single from his solo project, Alec Grefe pulled no punches in calling it “a self-deprecating song about fumbling a relationship with the most perfect angel the universe ever created.”
“We should feel even worse when you consider the billions of years and untold amounts of cosmic energy spent simply to bring two people together in space and time,” he added. “All of that just wasted. Very sad.”
As sad as the song itself, in all of the best Eliot Smith-ish ways. Grefe strums the guitar with such a soft touch, you’d swear he was using a flower petal rather than a pick. Hints of electric elements drift underneath as layered vocals relay this tale of woe:
A billion years of space-time brought you me
And I wasted it all
I’m a cosmic tragedy
I’m under the moon singing a song
To nobody now
I know that she’s gone
She’s gone
It’s crestfallen yet cozy — the kind of song you bring along before climbing into bed and pulling the covers over your head, whether you’re fighting off one of the dozen microscopic invaders floating around right now (as this writer currently is) or just that feeling of what might’ve been.
You can listen to “Cosmic Tragedy” on 88Nine all day today (6:30 and 10:30 a.m.; 2:30, 6:30 and 9:30 p.m.) or anytime using the player at the top of the page. The single gets its official release next Thursday, March 6, and will be part of a full-length album coming in April.
