by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
The past two years have seen Los Angeles’ Naomi Alligator on a steady climb. Her self-released album Small World was reissued in 2020 by Citrus City Records and in 2021 she followed that album with Consession Stand Girl, her first for Carpark Records (Ed Schrader’s Music Beat, Ducks LTD, Speedy Ortiz). The EP was a great introduction to a wider audience, with an intimate collection of songs, that at ten minutes in length, left you wanting more. Thankfully, that “more” has arrived via Double Knot, Naomi Alligator’s upcoming full length, due out July 1st. Her gentle folk music is beautifully composed, wrought with feeling but a calming presence. There’s a maturity ingrained in Alligator’s songwriting, even when her sense of humor comes shinning through as playful. It’s in that ability to mix absurdity into her poignant music that separates her from the endless pack of singer/songwriters.
“Seasick” is a love song about being head over heels for someone to the point of sickness. With a simplistic chorus of “you make me so seasick” doubled over the words “I love you most,” it may not be the most common expression of endearment, but it’s genuine if nothing else. With just her acoustic guitar and the clarity of her voice, Naomi Alligator finds herself lost in love, losing her mind as if nothing else comes into focus. Speaking about the song she shared, “I have this vivid memory of being a kid and looking up at a canopy of trees while I was swimming. The sky was really pink and it was kind of scary, but I felt really happy. I think that is my favorite moment of my whole life, haha. I think that being in love takes me back to that memory–where everything is safe and magical.”
The video takes a different tone, one that’s decidedly hilarious as her love interest takes the shape of Seabasstien… a sea bass. The love story is fully committed (but spares us going quite as far as The Shape of Water), with Alligator’s own animation bringing the story to life. Speaking about the video, she offered,
"This video is about love and obsession and jealousy. It’s also silly because sometimes those feelings can feel overwhelmingly silly. It was pretty disgusting to film because the fish had tiny little teeth and parts of the Earth kept getting stuck to his skin/gills? I had to buy three separate fish and each disgusted me more than the last. But I truly would never hurt a fish…so if you get sad while watching this, I am sorry and just know that I bought Seabasstien already dead from a Whole Foods."