the spar

Here's an interview with Al Sparhawk from my favorite band LOW at stereogum. They have a new record coming out next month. This part struck me as particularly true:

STEREOGUM: I don’t know that I’ve had the new record long enough to unpack what I feel like the larger themes of the album are with any kind of authority, but I think it’s interesting whenever you can sort of look back at your body of work and see how you’re sort of coming at these same ideas from a lot of different angles. I think it’s cool. I think most people with long careers making art — regardless if it’s music or writing or visual art, whatever — you kind of have this certain set of problems I guess that you kind of tend to pick at over and over in your career. It just becomes about finding new ways to pick at it.

SPARHAWK: You always pick at it. Or maybe you’ve figured out this much, and now there’s a NEW problem to figure out. It’s true. And I think most artists probably would describe it that way. I mean, you still feel like you’re the same person, you maybe notice that you refine a few things and you’re better and this or that. A little bit of experience gives you some confidence sometimes. In those times when you’re questioning your abilities sometimes you’re able to remember that, “Oh yeah, it takes work and doesn’t always feel right at first.” Or, “Be patient.” If it feels like nothing is working, eventually it will and that’s kind of all you really learn with time. A little bit of patience with your own process. Being able to trust that if you keep at it, it will show its face.

It also made me very much want to write and play some music with people or what.