Yellow Sky affirms Trask’s position as a truly original songwriter and an all around east coast treasure.
Matt Carter
OK. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…
The first time I saw Trask play, it was with his old band The Precious Memories. They were closing out Paddlefest and literally (and I mean that literally) had the whole back half of the Red Herring pulsating with unbridled rock madness. It felt like the entire bar was on the verge of breaking loose and vibrating into the harbour – band, audience and all. And I remember laughing my way through the entire set, not because it was funny, but because up until that moment in my life, I had never experienced such a perfect combination of delivery, eclectic musicianship and eccentric on-stage live energy. I think it ended up being their final show which in a way was probably a good thing because the world would have most likely exploded had they been given the opportunity to improve upon the magic they were slinging that night. Outstanding. I’ll never forget it.
It’s not unimaginable to think that at some point in our lifetime, people will take to using the name Mike Trask as a recognition of admirable ability, as in to say, “He’s a real Mike Trask on the court” or “She’s really Mike Traskin’ it with her new book”. I mean this sincerely, because it seems that every new single Trask releases solidifies his unique position as a songwriter, a multi-instrumentalist, a producer, and an engineer with a completely original understanding of purpose and an equally unique interpretation of what a song can be. He does it all and he does it all well.
For the past few years, Trask has been doing his own thing musically while recording bands at Memramcook Recording Company and playing as a member of Julie Aubé’s band. His 2018 album Derealization helped solidify his current creative path by introducing a far reaching sonic palette drenched in a nostalgia that easily conjures up images of velour suits, carpeted vans and dive bars decorated with overflowing ashtrays and neon. Lots of neon.
Yellow Sky, his second single of 2020, continues down this path. The song begins with a dark groove that lands somewhere between stoner-funk and pure psych-rock, with Trask pushing his voice and range to the peak with a challenge that seems to sum up his entire creative vision in one short phrase – You change your world, I’ll change mine. A big blue sun in a yellow sky. What more needs to be said? The accompanying video created by Amanda Fox takes it over the top.
Each new song from Trask is an experience unto itself. Give Yellow Sky a listen and feel something new.
Yellow Sky is the fourth single from the upcoming album, TV Dinner.
