Every week, the Milwaukee Music Premiere sponsored by Density Studios 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.
Chris Rosenau and Nick Sanborn have been in the music industry for decades, earning their stripes through separate but culturally similar projects. After a four-year breather, the two are back with “Walrus,” the instrumental single we’re helping them premiere today.
Rosenau, a native Wisconsinite, has been part of indie-rock group Volcano Choir (which includes Justin Vernon of Bon Iver) for years. His guitar playing in the band is ethereal, crafting light and melodious sections that percolate in the brain. He channels an intimate quality that merges well with highly emotive vocals or dynamic instrumentation — something that can also be found in his Milwaukee-based project, Collections of Colonies of Bees.
Sanborn, on the other hand, brings an interesting electronic quality to the duo. After growing up in the Madison suburb of Middletown, he made his splash in the electro-pop scene as half of another pairing: Sylvan Esso.
Whether he’s collab’ing with vocalist Amelia Meath in that project or working with other artists who seek him out, Sanborn’s soundscape is fully maximalist, evoking a similar somber quality like “I Can Change” by LCD Soundsystem. It’s bouncy and smooth to listen to but retains so much personality and spunk, pairing well with a guitar approach like Rosenau’s.
The two were in each other's orbit for a while but connected more meaningfully during an Eaux Claires festival set in 2016. Nearly 10 years later, they’re sharing “Walrus” with us — an incredibly non-linear (and enjoyable) track.
It starts with a jagged collection of drum machine hits and solid synth tones that coalesce with the introduction of Rosenau’s bright strumming. The electronic foundation slowly develops as the chord changes shift and weave between every hit of the beat. It feels like you're watching the rain from the comfort of your own home.
Rosenau and Sanborn play off each other well, taking turns as the focal point in a delicate dance between modern tones and traditional ones. It drives beautifully into a soul-lifting climax right in the middle, with the guitar leading the listener through a dynamic chord structure before culminating with a short drop back into Sanborn’s layered soundscape.
The musicianship shown off here is impressive. These are two artists who understand themselves right down to the core and can show off that expertise in a little over four minutes. It’s finely tuned indietronica demonstrating the type of ingenuity that made Bon Iver a household name. But Rosenau and Sanborn have developed a shared perspective that shines through in their own way. This isn’t just another indietronica track; it cascades over mountainsides as an avalanche of beautiful tonal balance.
“Walrus” is the first single teasing the duo’s full-length album, Two, that’s set to come out March 6 (a heavily hinted-at tour seems to be on the way as well). For now, you can listen to the single anytime using the player at the top of the page, and catch it on 88Nine throughout today (6:30, 10:30 a.m.; 2:30, 6:30 p.m.).
Jonathan Joseph is a Milwaukee-based multimedia freelance journalist who specializes in art and culture writing (and all things Milwaukee), with work appearing on Radio Milwaukee and in Milwaukee Magazine. Contact him via email or find him on LinkedIn.