Image: Supplied.
North Queensland’s Dan Baker has returned with his poignant new single, Take This Rose. The track marks the first taste of new music from the musician since the release of his 2019 debut album Counting Paces in Tortoise Races.
The track sees Baker continue his exploration of folk sounds, bringing nimble finger plucked guitars beneath his raw and deep vocals. Ebbing and flowing between steady, melancholic verses to quicker, rallying choruses, the track navigates old and new love, examining how time and distance play a part.
Speaking of the track, Baker shares: "Take This Rose took a particularly long time to unravel. I don’t recall how it initially came to be but I do remember calling it finished during the first snowfall several Glaswegian winters ago. It describes old love and new love, and the relationship between distance and time contributing to a sense of loss. It was an optimistic attempt to defend against this sense."
In 2019, Baker received the Australian Roots Music Award for Best Song with Like A Robin, also earning a place as a finalist for the 2020 Billy Thorpe Scholarship
Having toured with the likes of C.W. Stoneking, The Whitlams, Tia Gostelow and Greta Stanley, Baker was set to spend the last year on the road, plans foiled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Take This Rose is out now! Listen to the track below.