Tonstartssbandht

Tonstartssbandht – the brother duo of Edwin and Andy White – release a new single/video, “Pass Away,” from their forthcoming album, Petunia, out October 22nd on Mexican Summer. Following “What Has Happened,” “Pass Away” kicks off the album with Edwin’s maracas, tapped percussion, and Andy’s freely strumming guitar. The track is a compelling representation of Petunia’s unified aesthetic statement as both Edwin and Andy’s falsetto-feathered singing blend seamlessly together. The self-directed video, edited by Adrian Randall, is a live studio performance of “Pass Away,” keeping the focus on Tonstartssbandht’s undeniable bond. Andy adds: “Long time music video enjoyer, first time mimer. Miming is pretty hard! Respect to all the mimes. We shot this one day in September 2021 in NYC.”

Where most Tonstartssbandht albums come together slowly over years, Petunia is the first Tonstartssbandht album to be created in a sustained manner and in a consistent environment, written and recorded in a single place over a focused period of time. Using little more than a 12-string guitar and a drum kit, Andy and Edwin weave together the gentle headiness of Laurel Canyon and the sweaty pacing of Cologne; like a gyroscope, its constant motion produces the illusion of stillness—and that stillness gives it a sense of intimacy and introspection, something that’s further illuminated by the new emphasis placed on the brothers’ intertwining vocals.

The album was recorded at the brothers’ home studio in Orlando between April and August of 2020 and mixed by Joseph Santarpia and Roberto Pagano at The Idiot Room in San Francisco. This is the first time the two have brought in perspectives from outside of the White family, and the resulting Petunia is brighter, punchier, and more direct than its predecessor. As the Whites have long known, a song—like a person—is a constantly evolving thing, and a record is a photograph, a way to pause that motion, to examine an object at a single moment in its evolution. Petunia is a portrait of Andy and Edwin White at home in Florida, an artfully staged landscape rich in detail, its winding passages and airy environment waiting to be explored.