by Rockford Rowley (@Rockford_Rowley)
The last time I saw the Seattle band Flying Fish Cove live seems as if it occurred in a different lifetime. Beforehand, I chatted with friends in a poorly ventilated room under low ceilings. As the band began to play, I could hear their voices and instruments sans digital mediation, and I didn’t have to “unmute” myself afterwards to speak to a nearby acquaintance about how good the set was. Once feeling like an impervious nightly tradition, the live show has categorically shifted into the realm of nostalgia. Though as the scores of artists and fans that remain expatriated to online platforms yearn for safe reentry into these hallowed spaces, Dena Zilber and Jake Jones of Flying Fish Cove have continued to bless our cultural timeline with their singular pop iridescence.
The band’s most recent output arrives in the form of a video for their song “Xuxa” from their latest EP Viridian. Having fallen in love with the band’s relatively austere instrumentation and relaxed delivery that can be heard on their debut full-length At Moonset, I was sublimely surprised by the track’s introduction of an angular guitar riff amid timid feedback. Upon revisiting their post-LP releases, 2019’s En Garde, and Magic Wand at the beginning of last year, I now hear the subtle introduction of a denser production palette. It is with “Xuxa’s” jittery bass, ricocheting drum fills, cascading twelve string guitar and glistening vocal performance that these newer components of Flying Fish Cove’s recording efforts are more fully embraced.
Their new video for “Xuxa,” directed by Jamie Jones and Connor Surdi, is the latest installment in their already charming visual saga. Cinematically encapsulating all the characteristics of the band’s music, the video features Dena and Jake amongst all the elements and ephemera you’d imagine the creators of this music to be: nature, dream-like hues, a disco ball, and the obligatory cat cameo. It is a phenomenal addition to an already excellent body of work.