“It’s more efficient to be without pain”—for years, this mysterious line was floating around inside James Houlahan’s head. It wasn’t a voice that the L.A.-based indie-folk artist immediately recognized as his own. Still, it intrigued him. “It was something I could almost hear Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy sing,” Houlahan says. “It was much more snarky and tongue-in-cheek than anything I’d written before.”
Eventually, the moment struck and from these words a fully formed song materialized. “What Is Our Love” is the lead single from Houlahan’s new record Ordinary Eye, set to release on November 20th. The song delivers its sly, sarcastic comedy in the most disarmingly earnest musical packaging.