Song of the Day: Gordi – Heaven I Know

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on The Midday Show with Cheryl Waters, is “Heaven I Know” by Gordi from the album Reservoir, available now via Jagjaguwar.

Gordi – Heaven I Know (MP3)

Like many songs, Gordi’s “Heaven I Know” opens with a voice counting off a “one, two, three.” However, it quickly becomes evident this is no simple lead-in cue -- the spoken numbers form a looped rhythm that immediately lends the track a frantic, unsettled energy. And once the Australian art-pop phenom’s crestfallen voice appears atop some sparse, pensive piano chords, the song feels like an audio allegory of the modern condition -- specifically, the impossibility of finding moments of quiet reflection amid the distracting bustle and relentless pace of daily life. But if “Heaven I Know” finds Gordi trudging through the ashes of a disintegrating relationship, the song magically weaves hope out of despair: As trumpets appear like sunbeams breaking through a cloud cover, Gordi sings, “I got older/ And we got tired/ Heaven I know that we tried,” a sanguine send-off that suggests a sense of closure has been achieved. And soon enough, that repeated count-off starts to feel less like a clashing rhythmic device and more like the engine propelling the song to its ecstatic, skyscraping climax.

Gordi is currently in the midst of a European tour; follow her on Facebook to be among the first to know of a Seattle date. In the meantime, check out a video for today's featured track below, directed by James Soldan and inspired by the work of English photographer Eadweard Muybridge.