The Lemonheads return with Dan Lardner tribute ‘Fear of Living’
Alternative legends The Lemonheads haven’t released any new music since their 2019 covers album Varshons II. Now, they return with the country-inflected ‘Fear of Living’, with Evan Dando conjuring the spirit of David Berman thanks to his drawled-out, subdued sincerity and the dark humour of the laughing in the face of despair lyrics.
The frontman co-wrote the song with the late Dan Lardner, formerly of the New York indie outfit QTY, before heading down to São Paulo, Brazil, with his Lemonheads bandmates to craft a fittingly laidback tribute in sunnier climes. The result is a song with a seamless melody weighed down the leaden sentiment, converging to create a ditty with a heavy dose of counterpoint.
In a press release, Dando explained how his collaboration with Lardner played out. “I met with Dan in 2022, he sent me ‘Fear Of Living,’ I added some riffs and things, and he said he liked it,“ he said. “I shall miss you, Dear Prince, ever the most dignified person in the room.”
The song marks a fitting tribute to Lardner and his work. QTY was formed in 2014 after ex-members of Grand Rapids converged, and the band looked to take their sound back to Manhattan’s rocking heyday with a sense of reverie always in the welter of tracks like ‘Dress / Undress’, always just a little too casual to be punk.
Lardner tragically passed away in June, with Dando leading the tributes with lyrics from ‘Fear of Living’, which were hitherto unknown to the world. “Life is short and unforgiving. RIP Dan Lardner, we will forever love you,” The Lemonheads announced.
In an interview with Rock Cabeça shortly before his passing, Lardner discussed the touring with Dando earlier this year, saying: “The tour is going pretty damn well, I was a last minute addition and haven’t played live much since my last band stopped touring so it’s all slowly kind of coming back to me and there couldn’t be a better person for me to get back into it with then Evan.”
He continued: “He’s always been really supportive of my music and I think we’re mutual fans of one and other so it’s a little bit of a dream scenario for me personally. The fact that the shows have been going so well is just an added bonus.”
Although tinged by tragedy, ‘Fear of Living’ stands as a fitting testimony to that time. It’s a brooding track that showcases the power of music as the darkness of the words are spared the doldrums by the lilting melody, creating a resonant track that transfigures the suppression of grief like a proverbial tonne of feathers.
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