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Sep 29, 2020 By Christopher Roberts Deep Sea Diver

Deep Sea Diver (the band led by Jessica Dobson) is releasing a new album, Impossible Weight, on October 16 via High Beam/ATO. Now she has shared another song from it, “Wishing,” via a video that is made up of crowd-sourced footage of fans standing in front of 78 music venues closed because of the pandemic, in an effort to promote the Save Our Stages movement. Watch it below.

Dobson had this to say in a press release: “I gladly add to the chorus of voices of those releasing music right now and say, alongside many others, that it is DEVASTATING not being able to properly promote an album by playing shows and touring. The question that keeps rising within us as we try to maintain our wits and creativity is, how can we still involve people—and how can we still involve these music venues that we love and NEED?

“The answers are not totally clear, but one thing we do know is—they HAVE to be involved. So, for ‘Wishing,’ we wanted to make a video that brought others in, as well as utilized these precious spaces for the backdrops. We wanted to create a feeling like we were still on tour somehow, though being logistically at home. We wanted the togetherness of a show to come through in the video with one stipulation—that people would pick a music venue that means a lot to them—a place where they have experienced beauty and togetherness with others, and film themselves in front of it. The hope being that our video would contain the joy, the longing, the memories and the importance of these spaces for music, musicians and concert goers.

“And I feel like that was accomplished. Though its not the same, its the closest thing we’ve got at this point, and with this video, we want to plead with our local and federal governments to step in and save these spaces that are such beacons of hope and light for so many to experience community, joy, art and beauty together. Save Our Stages. Please.”

Previously Deep Sea Diver shared the album’s title track, “Impossible Weight,” which features a guest verse from Sharon Van Etten. It was shared via a video featuring both Dobson and Van Etten. “Impossible Weight” was #1 on our Songs of the Week list.

Dobson’s Deep Sea Diver bandmates include her husband Peter Mansen (drums), Garrett Gue (bass), and Elliot Jackson (guitar, synth). Impossible Weight is the band’s third album. The band entered the studio not long after the touring cycle for their sophomore album, 2016’s Secrets.

“We went into the studio pretty quickly after the tour ended, and I sort of hit a wall where I was feeling very detached from making music, and unable to find joy in it,” Dobson reveals. “I realized I had to try to rediscover my voice as a songwriter, and figure out the vocabulary for what I needed to say on this album.”

Eventually she regrouped and co-produced the album with Andy D. Park (Pedro the Lion, Ruler), recording it at Seattle’s Studio X and The Hall of Justice. Previously Impossible Weight’s first single “Lights Out” was shared.

Dobson has also performed in The Shins and in Beck’s band.

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