Song of the Day: Stephen Steinbrink - Impossible Hand

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, is "Impossible Hand" by Stephen Steinbrink from his 2016 album, Anagrams, on Melodic Records.

Stephen Steinbrink - Impossible Hand(MP3)In describing new album Anagrams, Olympia-based songwriter Stephen Steinbrink said the dominating feeling was "trying to make sense of my life then when I didn’t really have the capability to process things". With that, it should be apparent that Anagrams is the type of record you can find yourself in easy. Steinbrink's sound lands somewhere between the green-aisled suburban wanderings of Real Estate and the introspective intimacy of Elliot Smith, navigating the Phoenix strip malls of his childhood with newfound separation and solidarity apart from the sprawl. But of course, the remnant of a feeling remains the same, and Anagrams finds meaning in the events that don't lose their narrative when you flip them around in your head.

"Impossible Hand" is a wispy melancholic offering that shows off exactly what makes Steinbrink's songs so enticing. It's a mixture of cool and collected songwriting and a type of nostalgia you can't pin to the wall. Steinbrink recalls a love affair that has come to an end, where he's become a sort of monument of the past to this person who he used to know so well. In a lot of ways, it's a parallel to his relationship with Phoenix (where the song's video is filmed and where Steinbrink grew up) and to his childhood. The enamored euphoria you can feel so strongly in one chapter of life fades and gets memorialized in the next. It's a lovely phenomena that Steinbrink captures brilliantly hear, never speaking louder than the listener can think, but never letting his narrative get lost in the summer breeze. It's a lovely track to soundtrack the turning of the seasons and the beginning of new chapters.

Grab "Impossible Hand" above, and watch the adorable video for the song below. Also, make sure to check out the rest of Anagrams, out now on Melodic Records. Steinbrink is touring Europe through the fall, but check his website and Facebook page for potential U.S. dates once he returns.