Wussy - "The Great Divide"

Just a few weeks ago we brought you the latest single from Wussy Duo, the project of Wussy's Lisa Walker and Chuck Cleaver. Now we get to bring you the latest single from Wussy from their upcoming album, which is the first since the passing of guitarist John Erhardt in 2020. Maybe it's just that knowledge, but "The Great Divide" has a sense of melancholy even stronger than the typical Wussy song. It's a song that straddles the lines of Americana and indie rock, somehow both and neither at the same time. But that's kind of how the band has always operated. What's unique about "The Great Divide" is how uplifting the song is. It's an absolute epic track, and listening is making me both sad and hopeful. Wussy have always been "your favorite band's favorite band," and with a song like "The Great Divide" they could very well expand on their fanbase.

Lisa Walker says of the band's latest single:

"Lyrically, I struggled for a while to get this one right. It’s a study on the minutiae of loss. The things we leave behind.. the ways in which we live on, and maybe even reveal ourselves to others, after we’re gone. How something so simple and small - like an old hard drive or guitar cable - can mean so much. Realizing in one crystal moment that this thing you borrowed from someone can't be returned, because they're not here anymore. Creating this was part of a grieving process that I'm not - we're not - entirely finished with, but I think working on this song helped.

"Most of the tracks for this new record were written a few years back, prior to the start of recording. But ‘The Great Divide’ is one of the exceptions. I had the melody and chord progression as far back as 2019, but hadn’t written anything to it yet. Near the end of our studio sessions for this new record, I was finally able to put the right words to it, and I texted the band a demo. I thought at best, it could be an acoustic closer or maybe go onto a future album. But Joe [Klug] really championed it, and was willing to set up his drums at The Lodge all over again just to record this song with the full Wussy force. If not for the band and John Hoffman being willing to make that extra effort, this song wouldn’t exist in this format.

"The B-side features a couple tracks that are from the What Heaven Is Like studio sessions. We realized we still had a couple of songs with John E. that hadn't yet seen the light of day, so we're thrilled to put those out into the world."

You can watch the lyric video for "The Great Divide" below. Cincinnati Ohio is due out November 15 on Shake It Records, and is available for pre-order through Bandcamp. For more on Wussy, check out the band's website.