Dais Records: SRSQ – Temporal Love / Unkept
SRSQ is the solo project of singer and songwriter Kennedy Ashlyn, the founding member of the bay-area dream pop duo Them Are Us Too. SRSQ’s pulse began after the loss of Kennedy’s closest friend and Them Are Us Too collaborator, Cash Askew, in the tragic Ghost Ship fire of 2016. Driven by this sudden, heartbreaking loss, SRSQ became the vehicle for Kennedy’s transformative process for her to explore nostalgia, reflection, and reconciliation, manifesting in the aural landscape of her 2018 debut album, Unreality.
It’s been a year since the release of Unreality and 2019 has taken SRSQ around the world, touring extensively with Black Queen and Uniform, sold out performances in support of Cold Cave and Godflesh, and upcoming tours in support of Torche and label-mates Drab Majesty. Amid performances and writing in preparation for her upcoming 2020 album, Ashlyn went into the studio with producer Jorge Albrecht, who mixed down two new tracks featured on the 7” single Temporal Love b/w Unkept.
Wrapped in ethereal gauze and dreamlike textures, what SRSQ presents on this single are undeniably love songs. Wrought with longing, Ashlyn commands on “Temporal Love”: “Kissing you once more could not erase the time, wishing it was the same as it ever was…” her ethereal, soprano-like voice weaving effortlessly through soaring electronics as if the structure of the song itself is her creative playground. Joined in duet by True Body vocalist Isabel Moreno, “Temporal Love” conjures images of heartbreak and a relationship dissolved – perhaps regrettably. The B-side, “Unkept” presents an almost ceremonial incantation channeling the likes of Lisa Gerrard’s finest moments. Stirring in echoes and reverb, Ashlyn emerges alongside a slow and steady beat – rising and building: “Speak softly, my love” to create the perfect counter-balance to the dreamy pop sensibilities of “Temporal Love.”