Since the release of his first full-length in 2014, producer Grant Eadie, a.k.a. Manatee Commune, has been gaining more traction (he won several film festival awards for the video for his debut LP’s title track, for example). Hailing from the Pacific Northwest’s burgeoning “beatsy” scene — a cohort of DJs including ODESZA and Emancipator, among others — the Bellingham, Washington native will release his next EP, Thistle, this Friday. For the six-track effort, he brings back neighboring musician Marina Price, who lends her lilting tones to “Clay”; and Seattle denizen Maiah Manser, who’s toured with Mary Lambert. Throughout the release, Eadie blends orchestral strings and cascading synthpads with more naturalistic sounds of birds chirping, laughter, and water. Scuttling percussion and slightly funky rhythmic switch-ups bring to mind a slightly awkward person inspired enough to bust out some new, still-awkward dance floor moves. With downtempo beats sluicing through bright melodies, Manatee Commune’s burbling Thistle is a fitting re-introduction to his lovely style, just in time for his Friday performance at San Francisco’s Noise Pop Festival.
Listen to Thistle below, and pre-order the EP here.
