Jeremy Wheatley is a drummer by trade, and over the past 15 years the Athens musician has carved out what most would consider a successful career, performing and recording with the likes of Crooked Fingers, Eric Bachmann, Cracker, Palace Doctor, and Ruby the Rabbitfoot, among dozens of others bands. In that time, he’s also managed to build a considerable portfolio of his own original material, although until today none of that music has been made available publicly.
Written under his solo moniker Sailors & Ships, “Mass Migration” is Wheatley’s debut single, and it floats by in a warm cloud of gentle alt-country twang. It’s a pretty, albeit somewhat subdued number, dusted lightly with a cool pedal steel that serves as an autumnal accent to the song’s otherwise summery proceedings. Indeed, listen close and you’ll find the track’s golden-streaked hues belie the melancholy buried within the lyrics—a dichotomy that Wheatley finds especially appealing.
“This song was written pretty quickly,” says Wheatley. “A couple of days, I think. That may be why the chords and melody have a happiness to them, but the lyrics center around decay. I didn’t bother to take the time to match the moods, and I was happy with the way it worked out. I have a fondness for bummer songs that you can snap your fingers to.”
Give it a listen below.
Sailors & Ships’ self-titled debut is out May 15 via Laser Brains.
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