Summer Like The Season Makes a Timely Return with Premiere of “Root Mean Square” Video

Summer Like The Season – a.k.a Summer Krinsky, Scott Murphy and Liam McNitt – has a way of creating its own little world. Krinsky, who explains that texture and rhythm serve as the guiding forces of her songwriting, meticulously builds this world, brick by brick, using field recordings she’s captured on tour or in her home, layered vocals and unexpected rhythmic patterns. On latest single “Root Mean Square,” Krinsky reflects on the complexity of “remembering past relationships as a full picture instead of just highs and lows,” she says.

While the song emits bursts of longing, heartbreak and understanding, the video, premiering today via Audiofemme, is pure comedy. “The music is all pretty serious so we wanted the music videos to be a little lighter and fun,” Krinsky says. The setting for the visual takes place in an old dollhouse at Krinsky’s grandmother’s home. She was visiting one day when she was struck with inspiration. “Summer calls me up and says, ‘Get your cameras – my grandma has a dollhouse and we’re gonna use that to make a music video,’” Murphy recalls. “’Just get all the action figures you have and come on over.’” 

Murphy, a self-proclaimed “bad visual artist,” took up cinematography at the start of the pandemic and ended up shooting the entire video. While Krinsky’s vocals tell a story of loss and perception, a completely different kind of tension builds in the film. A tiny mouse family is ambushed late at night by some bad guys who came to rock. “The bad men come and they break into the mice’s house with the sole intention to jam,” says Murphy. “But their jam gets out of control and they kidnap a mouse,” adds Krinsky. The band casted, wrote and shot the film all within a day, in the type of fever dream-haze that many experienced during lockdown. “One might say it was manic,” Krinsky jokes.

Though the video was made within a matter of hours, Krinsky explains that the band’s forthcoming record, Hum, was a process three years in the making. “It was written and recorded, mixed and remixed a million times,” she says. When she finally finished the record, the pandemic happened and she felt like the timing wasn’t right to release the record; it’s finally been rescheduled for release September 3, 2021.

As frustrating as holding on to a body of work can be, Krinsky said it gave her time to reconnect with the songs and to make videos like this one. Space away from these songs that she spent countless hours on gave her a chance to return to them with a different perspective. “I was kind of worried that I’d feel really disconnected because [the album] was written so long ago and at first… I was feeling that,” Krinsky says. Because she writes and records almost all of her songs alone, bringing them to the band to arrange for live performance helps make them feel new again. Before they’re transformed into their live versions, Krinsky’s compositions are lush, intricate tracks, usually including multiple samples she’s recorded herself. 

“Root Mean Square,” in particular, includes a recording she made while unloading at a show in Duluth, Minnesota. “When we were on tour , I made it a point to take a sample in every city that we go to,” says Krinsky. “Every song has some hidden sample either from tour or like other things around Detroit or in my house or my dog.” These unique sonic textures combined with her shapeshifting vocals are what make up Summer Like The Season’s alternate universe; a place where rhythm has no rules, mice can be held hostage for a jam session, and the remnants of love lost are splayed out for all to see. 

Follow Summer Like The Season on Instagram for ongoing updates.

AUDIOMAMA: Making Baby’s First Concert a Success – Even When You Forget the Headphones

The second Monday of every month, we explore the trappings of the millennial mama with parenting tips and tricks that are more Tycho than Tangled.

“Forgotten Baby Headphones” by Ashley Prillaman

It wasn’t until we reached the pay lot that it dawned on me we’d forgotten the one thing parents needs to bring to a concert: baby headphones. Already, our first family outing was veering sideways.

I was going to be different than the rest of my friends with kids – I was gonna be the “cool mom“. The “cool mom” takes her newborn to see Still Woozy at The Hammer Museum. She has magically clean hair and a coordinating black and grey parent/kid ensemble. She breastfeeds with the ease of Gisele surrounded by assistants.

I am not this unicorn of a mother. I’m the new mom who manages to put on a cute outfit, blow dry her hair, and put on cute high-heeled boots. I’m the new mom whose husband got out early from work and picked up friends on the way to the show. I’m the new mom who felt pretty damn put together… until she remembered the headphones after it was already too late to pack them. Then I was the new mom sobbing in a parking lot in front of a newborn, friends, and a helpless partner.

The rest of the night was spent breastfeeding and hiding from the music. Tinnitus might not have been my main concern before I became a mom, but it turns out that even at “family friendly” events, the music is about ten times louder than my two-month old son’s fragile ear drums could be expected to handle. Turns out, he was as disinterested in watching a DJ as you might expect. All in all, I did get to enjoy the new “Made in L.A.” exhibit, but as for the music… my review could be summed up in three very Grandpa-ish words: too damn loud.

Neil Frances at The Hammer Museum (right before I ducked inside).

Are you a new mama thinking of braving the elements to see your fave band? Don’t sweat it. I’ve learned a lot since that first concert. Below is my best “Baby’s First Concert” advice:

  1. Buy two sets of baby headphones. Keep one in the car and one at home. Our apartment complex is plagued with a bunch of kids who love pulling the fire alarm (yes, I’m aware I sound like Mr. Wilson from Dennis the Menace), so having a home set is required. But honestly, loud noises can strike at any moment. It will give you peace of mind, and the average set is pretty cheap. We love Baby Banz.
  2. Bring snacks FOR YOURSELF. Breastfeeding is like a non-stop workout for your boobs. Hunger can strike at any moment. I have a rotation of granola bars in our house and eat on average two a day (sometimes three when we have a full-length feeding session in the early am). Kind bars and Health Warrior Chia bars are just a couple of my go-tos.
  3. Heeled boots make any outfit feel dressy. Heels are not my thing, but when you’re covered in piss and breastmilk, it’s the little things that make you feel human. A pair of comfortable boots gave me the confidence to walk around the museum with a baby attached to my tit.
  4. Keep it to the family unit. We made the mistake of inviting everyone we hadn’t seen since the baby was born. Which made every learning moment a very public affair. For your first time out, make it a strictly family affair. That way the only person you have to answer to is you, your baby, your partner, and a room full of strangers.
  5. Bring bottled milk. I hadn’t started pumping by the time of the concert, so I was solo when it came to fulfilling his needs. My advice? Schedule your first concert around your first pumping week so you won’t have to miss so much of the show.
  6. Find the quiet spaces. Even in the middle of a crowded event, there’s bound to be hidden areas where you and the baby can chill. Newborns are easily overstimulated, so don’t be afraid to tell your group “Hey, we gotta go.” At the Hammer Museum, I found a bench by the bathroom, a couch by the gift shop’s entrance, and a chair inside the exhibit.
  7. Wear your emotions on your sleeve. It’s okay to get upset. Your emotions are valid (even if they do stem from a lack of sparkling water at the cash bar). Keep your partner in the loop! You may feel like they should be able to read you, but they’re tired too.
  8. Download the right e-book. It might sound counterintuitive, but sometimes when you’re tired and there’s a succubus on your teat, the right book may lift your spirits and help you carry on. David Sedaris has been my new mom savior; his writing contains the real life grit and humor a mom needs to get her through the day.

“While at the beach we sensed more than ever that our lives were governed by luck. When we had it – when it was sunny – my sisters and I felt as if we were somehow personally responsible. We were a fortunate family, and therefore everyone around us was allowed to swim and dig in the sand. When it rained, we were unlucky, and stayed indoors to search our souls. ” – David Sedaris, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

Since little buddy’s first concert*, we’ve gone to another museum concert. It was a Natural History Museum “Summer Nights in the Garden” event. We went early and left early. I was fairly relaxed. The baby slept most of the time. At one point we found a spot behind the DJ booth and he bounced a bit with his headphones on. Victory!

*Baby’s first concert GIF below. As you can see…he was thrilled.