Sunday 21 August 2011

Louise & The Pins - New Waves

Back in April Louise & The Pins got a short mention on Breaking More Waves in one of our features concerning the Glastonbury Emerging Talent competition and we promised that we would be covering the band at some point in the future. That point is now and although we’ve referred to them before, it seems appropriate to introduce the band properly as what we like to describe as a new wave.

Louise & The Pins have an open vein of nostalgia within their music running the gamut of folk, blues, country and doo-wop, all laced with wonderful harmonies and a sense of mellow warmth and soul. Their songs are late night, smouldering fires that are impeccably performed and recorded – we can imagine their appearance on Later With Jools already, it’s that kind of music. And if that gig comes, this is what you’ll see; the self-assured and glamorous Louise with raven beehive, bright red lipstick, and vintage black dress backed by two stylish female backing singers (Bethan and Sara) and a backing band. However, some songs are played without the other musicians, leaving Louise to command the audience on her own (as you can see in the video below)

Come September 5 Louise & The Pins will release their debut single Melancholy/Beauty Strange on September 5th through Chess Club Records. A version of Melancholy has already been doing the rounds for a few months featuring the guest vocals of Laura Marling. The group toured with her last year, but the official single will instead feature Martha Wainwright. It follows a slow and gradual build up which has included the Marling supports, playing live on Radio 2 and their performance at Glastonbury itself, on the Avalon Stage, where they neatly segued into Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, another band who mine the vaults of the past with passion.

So, to the listening experience. We’re streaming the other side of the single - the jazzy Americana of Beauty Strange below. Words like lovely, charming and irresistible flow forth with ease - have a listen below. Having seen the band play twice now, we’re confident enough to tell you that there’s more and even better to come after this. Beautiful is an overused word in music, but once you’ve watched and listened to the video of Bell Jar also streaming, if can’t hear the beauty, then we suggest it’s time to get your ears tested.

Beauty Strange by LouiseAndThePins

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