Westerman crafts intricate intimacy on ‘Lie’

Every weekday, DIY’s new music know-it-all Neu brings you one essential new release to get obsessed with. Today’s Neu Pick comes from Westerman.

When London-based Westerman first emerged with ‘Misantropé’, he showed off that beyond his singer-songwriter with guitar façade he could pull off some intriguingly clever lyrics. Flash forward a bit and he’s lost none of that immediacy with his latest single ‘Lie’.

Taken from his upcoming EP ‘Call and Response’, due out via Blue Flowers on 6th October, it’s a track that boosts Westerman’s simple plucked melodies and haunting vocals with a number of elements that are gradually introduced across the course of the song. At first it’s just a little bit of piano or handclap beats, but give it some time and you’ll hear a sweeping synth, and brushes of orchestration.

Even his guitar lines soon get inflected with little bits of Americana twang that keep even that from getting too repetitive. It all builds to a climax where everything comes together for Westerman and a child’s choir comes in. Still though, it somehow remains oddly laid-back and minimal, helping feed into the narrative of the track itself. Its languid nature is something of a mirror to the protagonist’s lazy form of compromise, using sex with his partner as a type of lie. Yet despite this there’s nothing lazy about Westerman’s latest offering; it’s a carefully constructed, constantly engaging and curiously intimate look at an otherwise unfulfilling relationship.

Westerman is set to head out on a UK tour in September and October. Kicking off at Glasgow’s Hug and Pint, he’ll also be off to Hull, Liverpool, Leeds, London, Bristol and more on the month-long tour. Tickets are on sale now.

Listen to ‘Lie’ and see all of Westerman’s upcoming UK dates below.