Well-respected in the Americana realm for their stunning live shows and breakneck tour schedule, the bright minds behind the dynamic Driftwood have amassed a sizable grassroots fan-base over the years. Driftwood credits their ongoing success to their bonds as friends and creatives, which powered the development of their latest album, Tree of Shade. Simultaneously contemplative and stirring as its name implies, the album is the product of Driftwood’s retreating to the Catskill Mountains for ten days beside producer Simone Felice (The Lumineers) and sound engineer Pete Hanlon (O.A.R., Rachel Yamagata).
Their latest cut to be released from the LP, “Lay Like You Do”, is a reflective folk-rocker that emanates mellow, soulful vibes indicative of the overarching experience that Tree of Shade has to offer. With that said, the song has been around for much longer than this singular album’s development process, as Driftwood guitarist and songwriter Dan Forsyth tells PopMatters.
“Crazy, seems like this song has been around forever. I tend to write songs, and if they don’t make it to an album or have the right energy for the live show, I bury them. This one just kept popping back up. A few fans were crazy for it and would incessantly ask about it being on an album or request it at shows. One couple actually used it as their wedding song a few years ago, which is kind of wild because it’s not a happy, celebratory number at all.”
“Anyway, it was one of those songs that came out faster than I could write it down and seemed sort of like plucking an apple off a tree. The melody and chorus came out of a dream, and when I woke up, I wrote the rest, real fast. I guess maybe it was because it was so effortless and really sentimental, but it was easy to dismiss. After sending over a few demos to our management and producer, they both really liked it, and it came back to life pretty quick.”