Nomadic Indie Folk Trio Under The Rug Share New Single “Raindrops”

After leaving their Los Angeles jobs as recording studio engineers, the members of Under The Rug packed up their mobile studio and headed out across the United States, recording songs in hostels and AirBnbs around the country. “There’s always some magic in going somewhere unfamiliar,” says drummer Brendan McQueeney. “It brings something new out of you. Being in a different place, I think, just puts you in a different headspace, creatively and musically.” Alongside vocalist Casey Dayan, and guitarist Sean Campbell, the trio have been performing together for a decade and are working on a new full-length as a follow-up to their 2019 debut Pale King, lead by their new single “Raindrops”.

Recorded over a 72 hour period in a small artist community made up of paper-and-concrete huts near Marathon, Texas, “Raindrops” changes lanes for a more stripped down, indie folk arrangement, reflective of their barebones surroundings. Warm mandolin chords, crisp percussion, and Dayan’s rugged vocals give the song a melancholic spirit, as they sing about grief and self-reflection.

In the spirit of collaboration with the community in which Under the Rug were guesting, “Raindrops” also features vocal contributions from one of the property’s owners, Ingrid, an eclectic Slovakian singer known throughout the commune as “The Goat Queen” for the rousing effect her vocals have on the nearby livestock. Another longtime resident of the commune, George Zupp, contributed artwork for the single, an eerie, almost-impressionist painting of a landfill marked by trash cans brimming with the heads of wild animals. “Driving into Marathon felt really unfamiliar, it was a bit of a culture shock,” says Dayan. “But the people we met there were so warm and welcoming and creative in ways that I think get overlooked by a lot of folks from big urban areas.”

Leaning into their stripped back and more organic approach to songwriting with “Raindrops”, the band recognize the importance of change and finding new ways to get their message across. “Under the Rug has always focused on adding new sounds, but now we’re in the era of the red pen,” says Campbell. “We’re trying to have fewer elements involved and let each part speak louder. Things are a little less overcooked, and focusing on that approach lately has been exciting.”