I have not been able to stop thinking about this song since I heard him play it late last year. Phil is one of the finest storytellers of our generation, and here he essentially tells the story of his life, in a way that is sorrowful yet full of dark humour. Distortion may just be the finest song he has created, which is remarkable considering what came before this.
I remember hearing Phil Elverum play an acoustic version of this song in a crowded Portland bar early in 2017. Not knowing too much of his work besides his 2017 album, I thought it worked very well with A Crow Looked at Me. Since then, I now know that this song is wonderfully reflective of previous albums.
Near the beginning of the track Phil reflects on his thoughts about death, recalling that the first dead body he ever saw was at his grandfathers wake. He remembers reading a biblical ... read more