Genuine Christmas Memories from Andrew Santora in Laybrum’s New Holiday Track “Chop a Tree” [Music Video Premiere]
“The song will probably be most enjoyed around Christmas time, but it’s just a love song at heart.” Wormbrain chatted with Andrew Santora of Philadelphia, PA project Laybrum ahead of their next single, a one-off holiday hit called “Chop a Tree” being released this weekend.
“There’s nothing really too personal about this song on the surface,” Santora shared on the seasonally spiced story behind the single’s lyrics. “However, there are some genuine memories in this song. My extended family and I used to drive out to rural New Jersey to chop down our own trees every year, I remember Baileys always being around the house during the holidays and I have definitely stepped on light bulb strands while decorating the tree.” The single is available to W.W readers to listen to a day early alongside a music video full of festive family footage, plucked straight from Santora’s grandparents’ Super 8 memories.
“I actually wrote it just as an exercise in writing love songs. I wanted there to be really romantic elements on ‘Chop a Tree’ so I started off each line with very sweet things one would wish to do with their significant other and always end the line with something a little more realistic and humbling. We really leaned into it by adding sleigh bells and glockenspiel, but my goal is for someone to find themselves enjoying it over the summer and not thinking too much about the setting.”
According to Laybrum labs, the formula for “Chop a Tree” is equal parts Prine, Berman, Tengo, and Twain.
“I’ve really come to cherish the balance of highly witty and bluntly sincere lyricism of John Prine and David Berman over the last couple years, so I tried to channel them in this song and I honestly strive for that in all the songs I write,” Santora told Wormbrain.“As far as the music goes, I absolutely love how cozy Yo La Tengo can get with their softer stuff and how all of Twain’s music sounds like it’s done to a tape machine with extreme care for the ambience of the recording. Those two bands were definitely a goalpost when we were recording this song and when I mixed it later on.”
“The coziness of this recording comes from Matthew, Noah and I doing this song live in the same room, something we don’t really find ourselves doing too often. I finished it sometime in December last year right before Christmas [and just before they released their most recent album “It Ain’t Fishin’ But It’s Somethin’” on December 27th, 2021 via Philly-based label Liminal Editions] so that played a huge part in setting the scene for it all, but I really classify it as just a love song set during Christmas. It is definitely a one-off song that doesn’t really sound like anything that’s coming out next.”
Photo by Hannah Fielo..
“I’ve been working on this album for a while now and it’s taken a lot of twists and turns sonically, but last year I finally got it to a place where I know what I want it to sound like and how to get it there. It’s kind of a wacky project with big synthy-sounding guitars, real drums layered over old drum machines and orchestral strings all over. I was really inspired by Arthur Russell, Bruce Springsteen, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Spirit of the Beehive throughout the whole thing.”
Laybrum aim for a new album in the thaw of early 2023, bringing a shift from this brief holiday cheer to expectedly more spiraling, haunted places.
“The song will probably be most enjoyed around Christmas time, but it’s just a love song at heart.”
Photo by Hannah Fielo..
Wormbrain World asked Andrew Santora of Laybrum to share their favorite holiday tracks and here are their picks:
“Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love
“The lyrics and vocals are full of desperation and heartache, yet the music is wildly uplifting and honestly one of my favorite recordings in general.”
”Hard Candy Christmas” by Dolly Parton
“I love [the song] so much because it’s barely a Christmas song if you read the lyrics, but the chorus is so grand it’s hard to think it’s anything but.”
Christmas EP by Low
“I find myself listening throughout the year because it’s just that good.”
”Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” by Bruce Springsteen
“I am a die-hard Springsteen fan and that monologue in the beginning where he’s asking if anyone’s been good this year and telling Clarence he’s going to get a new saxophone is hilarious. This is also really ridiculous but I’ll argue that ‘Hungry Heart’ by Bruce Springsteen is a Christmas song just by the sound of it.”
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Laybrum’s single “Chop a Tree” is out officially on December 16th, 2022.
