"A Stillness" is a song by

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

post-punk revival Post-punk revival (also known as garage rock revival,J. Stuessy and S. D. Lipscomb, ''Rock and roll: its History and Stylistic Development'' (London: Pearson Prentice Hall, 5th edn., 2006), , p. 451. new wave revival,. and new rock revolution) is ...

band

The Naked and Famous The Naked and Famous are a New Zealand indie electronic band from Auckland, formed in 2007. The band currently consists of Alisa Xayalith (vocals, keyboards) and Thom Powers (vocals, guitars). The band has released four studio albums: '' Pas ...

, from their second studio album ''

In Rolling Waves ''In Rolling Waves'' is the second studio album by New Zealand indie electronic band The Naked and Famous. It was released on 13 September 2013 by Fiction Records and Island Records. On 23 July 2013, the album's lead single, "Hearts Like Ours ...

''. The song was released for

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content i ...

on August 28, 2013.

Premise

The song is about getting ahead of worry and psychoanalysis, re-encountering love, stability, safety, tranquility, not straying and combatting the sense of despair that a person may have.

Live performances

Following the release of the album, the song has been used as the first tune performed at live shows.

Critical reception

EastScene describes the song as one having a galaxial theme of discovery while nonetheless remaining grounded, as the keyboards and percussion instruments stray in opposing paths while veering along the same trail. Christopher Sheridan of Band Wagon Magazine describes the song as starting off slowly while rising up gradually and setting the tone for the momentum the band is known for, with Lauren Brown from Rock on Philly comparing lead vocalist

Alisa Xayalith Alisa Xayalith (born 24 August 1986) is a New Zealand musician, and is best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player for New Zealand indie electronic band The Naked and Famous. Early life Xayalith was born in New Zealand, a ...

's resonant vocals to those of

Yeah Yeah Yeahs The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O (born Karen Lee Orzolek), guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are comp ...

front woman

Karen Orzolek Karen Lee Orzolek (born November 22, 1978) is a South Korean-born American singer, musician, and songwriter. She is the lead vocalist for the indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Early life She was born in Seoul, South Korea, the daughter of a Ko ...

. Brown went on to say that the song did not portray the ensemble's electropop talent.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''In Rolling Waves''. * Billy Bush – engineer * John Catlin – engineer (mix) *

Joe LaPorta Joseph J. LaPorta (born ) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound in New Jersey.http://www.allmusic.com/artist/joe-laporta-mn000199340/credits/date-asc/ Career Born and raised in New York, LaPorta graduated from New York Univer ...

– mastered *

Alan Moulder Alan Moulder (born 11 June 1959) is an English record producer, mixing engineer, and audio engineer. Early life Moulder was born on 11 June 1959 in Boston, Lincolnshire. He was educated at Boston Grammar School. He had an interest in music ...

– mixing * Thom Powers – producer * David Schwerkolt – engineer (assistant)

References

The Naked and Famous songs 2013 songs {{2010s-rock-song-stub