Told Slant, the solo project of Brooklyn songwriter Felix Walworth, has announced a new album Point the Flashlight and Walk, out on Nov. 13 via Double Double Whammy. It’s the follow-up to 2016’s Going By. Told Slant also unveiled two singles from the new album— “Family Still” and “No Backpack”—which come with lyric videos shot by Emily Sprague (Florist).
“Family Still” is a poetic exploration of interpersonal dynamics. “Power isn’t taking / It’s making you give in freely / And I hope you don’t come home / and think it’s enough to be near me,” Walworth sings in a gentle tone. This layered acoustic track excels in its dissection of the complicated shades of intimacy: “What can be said of desire / when every longing instilled in my heart was instilled in such a violent world?”
“No Backpack” also delves into closeness, mixing in both cynicism and romanticism. There’s cherished imagery of angled zippers on a leather jacket and a life packed inside a Honda, which plays into the song’s core conflict—its competing views of love: cautious and self-protective or idealized and reckless. “I don’t want to run with you / when there’s someone you’re devoted to / You’re always living with a trapdoor under you,” Walworth sings.
Walworth said of the new singles:
“Family Still” and “No Backpack” are meant to be listened to in succession. They explore the concepts of devotion and togetherness as both liberatory and self-negating, and mount these explorations from a place of sober reflection and indulgent fantasy.
Listen to “Family Still” and “No Backpack” below, and preorder the album here. Scroll down for the album artwork and tracklist.
Point the Flashlight and Walk Album Artwork:
Point the Flashlight and Walk Tracklist:
01. Meet You in the City
02. Bullfrog Choirs
03. Flashlight On
04. Run Around the School
05. Whirlpool
06. Family Still
07. No Backpack
08. Moon and Sea
09. Fog on the Glass
10. Anchor
11. From the Roofbeams
12. Walking With the Moon
