A couple summers ago, Sarah Kinlaw of the Brooklyn indie-rock band SOFTSPOT was on a boat off the coast of North Carolina with her father. A sudden thunderstorm swept in, disrupting the previously calm waters — and inspiring the song "Maritime Law," which appears on SOFTSPOT's new album, Clearing.

"We just kind of waited it out," Kinlaw says of that storm. "I feel like it's very symbolic, because growing up ... I looked towards my parents for guidance, for safety, for comfort. And the symbol of just being out with him in an unpredictable setting and something which he couldn't control — that was powerful to me."

Hear Kinlaw tell the story of "Maritime Law" at the audio link.

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