It can be hard to be in a band, or really, in any kind of group where there’s creative collaboration, and you’re supposed to act like it's a democracy. Because what do you do with an idea that you love, if nobody else believes in it? That question is a big part of this episode with Local Natives.
Local Natives is a band from Southern California. Their first album came out in 2009, but the three vocalists and songwriters in the band, Taylor Rice, Kelcey Ayer, and Ryan Hahn – they’ve been playing together since they were in high school. The lineup also includes Matthew Frazier on drums and Nik Ewing on bass. They’ve put out five albums, including their most recent, Time Will Wait For No One, which came out in July 2023.
But for this episode, I talked to Taylor, Kelcey, and Ryan about an older song of theirs: “Dark Days,” which came out in 2016. It’s their biggest song to date; it has over 100 million streams, and it's been certified gold. It’s a duet with Swedish singer Nina Persson, from The Cardigans. In 2020, they put out a new version of the song, featuring Amelia Meath from the band Sylvan Esso.
I talked to the guys here in the studio, and to Amelia Meath remotely. And together, they told me the seven-year story of how “Dark Days,” was first made and then eventually remade.
For more, visit songexploder.net/local-natives.
Kelly Lee Owens - On
Black Pumas - Colors
The 1975 - The Birthday Party
Waxahatchee - Fire
Khruangbin - So We Won't Forget
Apparat - Goodbye (Theme from "Dark")
Mobb Deep - Shook Ones, Pt. II
Re-issue: Michael Kiwanuka - Black Man in a White World
100 gecs - Money Machine
Laura Marling - Song for Our Daughter
Tame Impala - It Might Be Time
FKA twigs - Mirrored Heart
Nathaniel Rateliff - And It's Still Alright
Eric Nam - Love Die Young
Soccer Mommy - Circle the Drain
Caribou - Home
Vagabon - Water Me Down
Semisonic - Closing Time
Vampire Weekend - Harmony Hall
Intro Theme and Thao's Farewell
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