The Ophelias – “Neil Young On High” (Feat. Julien Baker)The Ophelias – “Neil Young On High” (Feat. Julien Baker)

Cincinnati-based indie rockers the Ophelias, who make what they call “moth music,” are back to follow up their 2018 record Almost with Crocus. The lead single, “Neil Young On High,” features harmonies from Julien Baker. It’s an exciting peek into the new album — an intimate, slow-building indie rock ballad made distinct with Spencer Peppet’s charming vocals and enchanting violin parts.

Read what Peppet said about the track:

We met Julien for the first time in 2019 at a show we played in Nashville. She introduced herself (as if we didn’t already know who she was) and I tried to not show how nervous I was! About half a year into 2020 quarantine I worked up the nerve to ask if she wanted to feature on a song from the album we were working on. She said yes, and I was seriously over the moon. She recorded her parts in Tennessee and we talked virtually. Her parts reinvigorated the song completely: she added lightness, openness, but also depth and complexity. It’s incredibly cool that she put so much care into those parts.

After a relationship ended I would become obsessed with remembering every detail of the painful moments. I realized later that I don’t have to know what I was wearing or what song was playing to know that I was hurt deeply. I think “on high” means seeing someone as literally above you, better and cooler and more put together. I imagine it like paintings of angels, a halo of white light around a person to differentiate them from the laymen. I do love Neil Young, but in this case he represents a person, a time, a place.

Watch the video for “Neil Young On High” and check out the album tracklist below.

01 “Crocus”
02 “Sacrificial Lamb”
03 “Neil Young On High”
04 “Vapor”
05 “Spirit Sent”
06 “Biblical Names”
07 “Mastermind”
08 “Becoming A Nun”
09 “Spitting Image”
10 “Under Again”
11 “The Twilight Zone”
12 “Vices”

Crocus is out 9/24 via Joyful Noise Records.