I AM THE RAIN
16 . 05 . 11
IDLE FRET / RED DEER CLUB
A joint release from London's new indie label Idle Fret and Manchester's own Red Deer Club, comes Stealing Sheep's second 7" single to hit the shops this year. Recorded in various studios including Abbey Road, Liverpool's Mello Mello cafe and the girls' own apartment, the record is an eclectic mix of atmospheres and production styles. It's titled I AM THE RAIN and features a double A-side single that includes the title track, as well as NOAH'S DAYS, BATS and SECRETS. Coaxed in with a Velvet Underground, Beatles-esque psychedelia, I AM
THE RAIN is flooded with tambourines and chanted vocal harmonies in a nostalgic reference to sixties drone pop, yet the Stealing Sheep girls resonate a somewhat cutting edge twist to this familiar sound.
NOAH'S DAYS bellows a darkwave, Radiohead-meets-Bat For Lashes sound. It's in no way your conventional poptastic single but it's catchy, chanty choruses will bounce around in your head for days. A quick flip over to the B-side and you find yourself with BATS, a well-perfected, math-folk, doomy pop song soundtracking a Cowboys-and-Indians-style cartoon. It's pretty epic with a patchwork structure, rhythmic patterns and acapella vocal section - quite a journey into the Stealing Sheep girl's musical world - and it's delightfully followed by SECRETS, a glitchy pop remix of some demos originally made on cassette with producer Joe Wills. It dives in and out of Yann Tiersen-style piano on low-fi synths with Casio beats and broken trip-hop interruptions, resolving upon a swoony reprise of the title track. It's a great taster for their forthcoming album due out in the winter and holds its own wistful, musical experience. Enjoy!
PRESS james@sonicpr.co.uk
IDLE FRET darren@infernalracket.co.uk
RED DEER CLUB info@redeerclub.co.uk
BOOKINGS mike@elasticartists.net...more
from I am the Rain,
released May 16, 2011
Secrets (2:23)
Written by Stealing Sheep & Joe Wills.
Keyboards/vocals by Becky Hawley
Keyboards/vocals by Joe Wills
Drums/vocals by Lucy Mercer
Vocals by Emily Lansley
Recorded by Joe Wills at the Old Tea Factory & Abbey Road Studios.
Produced by Joe Wills & Becky Hawley.
Mixed by Joe Wills.
Mastered by Reuben Taylor.
Well, does it live up to the hype? It's okay, not as good as 'Loops' or the 'Fenella' stuff; i doubt i'll be listening to it in full very often.
Her mojo is waneing in my 'umble opinion. vykr
What a fantastic find. Throws all of my love for Wire, Minutemen, The Waitresses, and every other herky-jerky art-punk band, into a blender and comes out better than a kale smoothie. But beyond the nostalgia factor, these are sharp songwriters and arrangements. Excited to see them live tomorrow night! Ragle Gumm
This is the first album I found that really spoke to me as a young fem.
From the simplicity, the bass drum, specifically in landfill is so steady and soothing. I love landfill because it perfectly portrays trauma bonds, sexual or romantic relationships rooted in power imbalance. Being led on, unrequited love, constantly being clueless if someone is a real friend, or a lover. Are they yours or are they ruthlessly rogue. Untameable. Love and hate are such similar feelings, and they often mingle. clementinehatepageichangedmymind
"...an album that looks as much to this side of The Pond as the UK, She Makes War's debut album is a dark melange of 90s Riot Grrrl meets indie-pop meets disquieting ballads, all the time not missing a beat..."
https://reclaimingthecolonies-onestateatatime.blogspot.com/ steveinsocal
While I'm a huge fan of electronic music, I love when these projects also introduce a narrative aspect. The unfolding history of Martin's musical journey adds such a wonderful dimension while listening to these albums. Not to mention the great visuals, too.
M0T0M