it foot, it ears Premiere Their Experimental Single, “Worm Regards”

There’s an interesting dynamic at work when it comes to it foot, it ears. But when you start to learn a little bit about the Salt Lake City duo, it all starts to come together and make perfect sense.

The duo premiere their new song today, the cleverly titled “Worm Regards.” It comes from their latest full-length album Tip Toe Loops. Nicely representative of the album at large, “Worm Regards” is a short experimental song about remembering to stay close to the people who have your back. It’s a quiet, hushed song that relies more on feeling than a wall of sound and instruments. It’s representative of the DIY roots of collaborators Jason Rabb and Nick Foster and the anything-goes approach that goes along with that.

With a comment on “Worm Regards” and its development and meaning, the duo state:

“Musically, this piece is all about texture and space. We used a floor tom that has been transformed into a ‘lion’s roar’ by stringing rope through the drumhead. And while a lion’s roar is typically played by pulling a wet rag across the rope to send a roar resonating through the drum, in these quiet moments, the rope is being plucked to give the piece pointillistic, atonal bass pizzicatos.

“The idea of using a worm as a loose metaphor in this piece came from an experience with my daughter, as we tried to rescue a worm from drying up on a sidewalk. We brought it home, created an impromptu bedside habitat (based on zero scientific research), and the next morning, the worm was dead. There were tears and a funeral service.”

Although their songwriting style may come across as unconventional, it’s all in the pursuit of honing in on the best art possible for it foot, it ears. There are a few core principles behind their music: intellectual freedom, uninhibited exploration, and untethered experimentation. Tip Toe Loops is an admittedly “weird” record. Featuring 13 songs, the longest one is a shade over two and a half minutes. Each track was written out physically, practiced and performed by just Rabb and Foster, and recorded, mixed, and mastered at home in West Valley City, Utah. The gear they use is mostly banded together and second-hand. They use commonplace instruments, most typically guitar and drums, to create extraordinarily distinctive sounds. Strange and unusual ideas are not just welcomed, they are actively pursued.

Tip Toe Loops is largely inspired by the duo’s friend, the late Paul Reynolds. He was a highly regarded local visual artist who passed away while this record was being put together. As a big supporter of it foot, it ears, they wanted to pay tribute to him, like on the album track “Chomps–and 12 seconds (for Paul).” He supported their art, so they wanted to support his and his legacy.

it foot, it ears is a place for the uncommon. As so many musicians have proven in history, music is driven by spirit, energy, and the enthusiasm of self-expression.

it foot, it ears ‘Tip toe loops’ album artwork