If you close your eyes and listen closely, Louisiana native Ben Millburn’s single, “I’ll Go,” just might transport you to a different place and time. Strange, dreamlike vocals and psychedelic guitar create a foggy atmosphere, conjuring a late-night state of mind–eyes closed and thoughts wandering. It’s fitting then, that Millburn’s series of releases known as The Balance EPs center around dreams and their interpretation. Strange Love & Consequence, the first of the EPs, which Millburn released in December of 2015, was born from a recurring dream, and found Millburn trying to recreate the dream in real time. Local Honey is a response, a stripping down and unravelling of its predecessor. After making the move to Austin, the singer/songwriter had to isolate himself in order to create the second part of his suite, an introspective, interior dig in contrast with the first. Recording at Public HiFi in Austin, Millburn played all of the instruments and acted as producer on both recordings, which gave him ultimate creative control.

“I’ll Go,” Millburn’s single off of Local Honey, demonstrates how his stripped down approach gives way to haunting emotion. His video for “I’ll Go” emphasizes the dream-like sound of the single while allowing the vocals and instrumentals to shine. ““I’ll Go” was another one of those that came out pretty fully formed,” Millburn told us about the track. “I remember waiting to get picked up and having these blue and purple lights on at my old place. Sounds kind of produce colors for me so sometimes I like to base a song on an idea about different colors. I had them set to blue and purple, and I had been listening to a lot of solo piano recordings. I think this was my attempt at trying to get to a minor chord piano ballad, but I only had the telecaster setup so it came out a little grittier.” The lack of visual narrative is refreshingly stark, forcing the viewer to focus on Millburn, playing his guitar and crooning passionately, awash in a kaleidoscopic sea of purple, blue and green lights. His stylized, nasal vocals are given ample room to form across the song, emphasized by gauzy, eerie guitar riffs.

Watch the video for “I’ll Go”and check out Millburn’s upcoming tour dates below.

Upcoming Tour Dates:
9.07 Hotel Utah (San Francisco, CA)
9.10 The Mint (Los Angeles, CA)
9.16 Sidewinder (Austin, TX)
9.30 Spanish Moon (Baton Rouge, LA)