Fenne Lily has relocated from the UK to New York, and her upcoming album was written over the course of a relationship. The first single off that album, "Lights Light Up," was written during the better part of a relationship but recorded after the relationship ended. It gives the song this odd melancholy that you normally don't get in a love song. Fenne Lily has created a song that is a lovely and insightful singer/songwriter track. It's mostly straightforward and mainstream, but Lily gives it this unique quality with these quiet and kinda sorta twangy guitar licks over her intimately sung vocals. We've been fans of hers for a while, but something feels special about this particular release.
Fenne Lily says of her new single:
“I’d never really written about love in the present tense before this, but even though I was still in love and not thinking about the end, there was something else going on subconsciously that led to a song about moving on before the moving on had begun. When it came time to record, the band and I had been playing it live for a while and it’d become something joyful and positive, but when I started recording vocals, the lyrics made me cry. By that point the song was over a year old and I thought those wounds had healed but I guess it hurt to admit I’d been letting go of something while still trying to hold on."
You can watch the video for "Lights Light Up" below. Big Picture is due out April 14 on Dead Oceans. The album can be pre-ordered here. For more on Fenne Lily, check out the artist's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
Sat. Apr. 15 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club Sun. Apr. 16 - Dublin, IE @ Workman’s Club Tue. Apr. 18 - Glasgow, UK @ St Luke’s Wed. Apr. 19 - Manchester, UK @ YES Thu. Apr. 20 - London, UK @ Islington Assembly Hall Fri. Apr. 21 - Bristol, UK @ Trinity Sun. Apr. 23 - Brighton, UK @ Patterns Mon. Apr. 24 - Brussels, BE @ AB Club Tue. Apr. 25 - Amsterdam, NL @ Bitterzoet Thu. Apr. 27 - Hamburg, DE @ Nochtspeicher Fri. Apr. 28 - Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA Ideal Bar Sat. Apr. 29 - Berlin, DE @ Frannz Mon. May 1 - Munich, DE @ Ampere Tue. May 2 - Cologne, DE @ Stadtgarten Wed. May 3 - Paris, FR @ FMR Thu. May 11 - Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room * Fri. May 12 - Felton, CA @ Felton Music Hall * Sat. May 13 - San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall * Mon. May 15 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos * Tue. May 16 - Portland, Oregon @ Aladdin Theater * Wed. May 17 - Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theatre * Fri. May 19 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court * Sat. May 20 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater * Mon. May 22 - Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck * Tue. May 23 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line * Wed. May 24- Milwaukee, WI @ Back Room at Colectivo Coffee * Thu. May 25 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall * Fri. May 26 - Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell’s Eccentric Cafe * Sat. May 27 - Toronto, ON @ The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern * Tue. May 30 - Portsmouth, NH @ 3S Artspace * Wed. May 31 - Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair * Fri. Jun. 2 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg * Sat. Jun. 3 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer * Sun. Jun. 4 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat * Mon. Jun. 5 - Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall * Tue. Jun. 6 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West * Wed. Jun. 7 - Nashville, TN @ The Basement East * Fri. Jun. 9 - Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge * Sat. Jun. 10 - Fort Worth, TX @ Tulips * Sun. Jun. 11 - Austin, TX @ The Parish * Tue. Jun. 13 - Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf * Thu. Jun. 15 - Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge * Fri. Jun. 16 - West Hollywood, CA @ Troubadour * * = co-headline with Christian Lee Hutson
With this weekend's upcoming Newport Folk Festival, we thought we'd highlight some of this year's can't miss acts. We're focusing on the bands playing smaller stages and earlier in the day. I mean, you're obviously going to see Ryan Adams and Jack White. Instead, these are the acts worth getting there early for, and seeking out the smaller stages. Phox Friday, 1:50, Quad Stage Phox hails from Baraboo, WI, the winter home of the Ringling Brothers' Circus. I'm not sure if that is connected to their music or not, but Phox has an otherworldly charm and a magical feel. They come across as a more grounded St. Vincent or a less intense version of early Tori Amos. Their music is simply beautiful and uplifting. Reignwolf Friday, 2:55, Quad Stage Truly pushing the boundaries of what can be considered "folk" are Reignwolf. Reignwolf is Jordan Cook, who sounds like a mixture of The Black Keys and Queens of the Stone Age, mixed with just a lit...
Somehow Peter Prescott of Mission of Burma and Volcano Suns has another band that I never knew about. Minibeast already released an album that I completely missed back in 2012, and they are currently at work on the follow up, Free Will. Based on a track from the upcoming album, "High Sea," Minibeast shares some common sonic ground with Mission of Burma, but with an added emphasis on the groovy side of things. It's basically the noise and dissonance of Burma but heard through a 60s surf groove, as if Frankie and Annette were punks. You can listen to "High Sea" below. Minibeast currently have a Kickstarter to help fund the final production of Free Will. You can get more information on that here . It should be out sometime in June.
Photo by Rachel Cassels The Cairo Gang is mostly Emmett Kelly, who recorded most of their upcoming album, Goes Missing, on his own while travelling. "Be What You Are" is pure pop gold, reminiscent of British invasion bands like The Kinks and The Zombies. It features jangly guitars and some of the most infectious layered vocals you've heard in years. Luckily the beauty of this style of music is that it never quite sounds dated. It might sound like it's from a certain era that happened 50 years ago, but everything you've ever listened to since then borrows so heavily from it that it always sounds current. It's the kind of music you wish you hadn't missed, only now you haven't. Goes Missing is due out June 23rd on God? Records. You can pre-order the album now, and be sure to check out The Cairo Gang's Facebook . Listen to "Be What You Are" below, and below that are tour dates, many opening for Mikal Cronin. Sat. Sept. 5 - Portlan...
