HEAR NEW SINGLE ‘HOLD YOUR TONGUE’ + WATCH VISUALIZER
UK AND IRELAND TOUR STARTS THIS MONTH
LIVE AT LAFAYETTE, LONDON 1ST JUNE
British trio The Wandering Hearts have released their new album ‘Mother’. Produced by Steve Milbourne, their Chrysalis Records debut is a handcrafted patchwork of folk-style storytelling, pop hooks and rock energy threaded together by their luminous signature harmonies. You could think of it as a long-lost seventies album originally made in Laurel Canyon and dusted off in some vintage London record store 50 years later. The Wandering Hearts, who recently completed an extensive tour of North American venues and major radio stations, head out this month to play shows and make instore appearances across UK and Ireland. ‘Mother’ will be released digitally, on CD and LP with signed coloured vinyl, limited test pressings and other formats available exclusively via the band’s website. To coincide with the album release, The Wandering Hearts have unveiled a new track ‘Hold Your Tongue’:
LISTEN TO ‘HOLD YOUR TONGUE’
WATCH ‘HOLD YOUR TONGUE’ VISUALISER
Motherhood changes everything. Little moments assume a much greater significance, and every memory holds the potential to last forever. Responsibilities expand, yet joy does as well. The Wandering Hearts intimately explore this maternal transformation on their aptly titled third full-length offering ‘Mother’. The band, Tara Wilcox [vocals], A.J. Dean [vocals, acoustic guitar] and Francesca ‘Chess’ Whiffin [vocals, mandolin], chronicle this season of growth and change across eleven tracks.
“I was pregnant when we started making the record, and Tara was pregnant when we finished it,” notes Chess. “During the process, we really found ourselves as a band. Motherhood has helped us grow and find meaning. It brought our writing and performing to a different level.”
The group worked out of Chess’s home studio in Darlington, drawing on everything from folk to rock. Surrounded by guitars, a vintage piano and classic equipment, the music gestated in a room affectionately dubbed, “The Music Womb.” A.J. goes on, “This album started as a folk EP and grew into something entirely different. It has elements of folk, rock, blues, pop and more with our voices tying it all together. We were really just making an album for us. We think the result is the best music we’ve ever made.”
Earlier releases had brandished a bit of a subtle pop sheen. With ’Mother’, The Wandering Hearts peeled back this layer, sanded it down and stripped the sound to its bare essentials — captivating lyrics, organic instrumentation, and, as always, starkly powerful harmonies. In doing so, they realised their vision at its purest and most powerful. On ‘About America’, bright acoustic guitar and tambourine offset the heavy weight of an intense story given life by breathy harmonies. Echoes of a soft vocal line ripple over a steady beat on ‘Still Waters’, piano bookending the vulnerable refrain, “My body’s made up, but my mind is a mess, so hard to focus when I feel like this.”
WATCH VIDEO TO SINGLE ‘RIVER TO CRY’
Crystalline harmonies transmit a tender message uplifted even higher by organ on ‘Letter To Myself’. As electric guitar wails, ‘Hold Your Tongue’ pierces passive-aggressive “compliments” with sharp lyrics and angular vocal melodies. Album highlight ‘Not Misunderstood,’ broods and builds, warning of a looming emotional storm. ‘What Fools Believe’ concludes on a breezy chant laced with whistling and lithe strumming. “It’s an anthem to everyone to keep on going—even if life is hard,” A.J. notes. In the end, motherhood has ultimately enabled The Wandering Hearts to be themselves. “The album has all of the elements of who we are, but we’ve landed in a place that feels like us,” reflects Chess.
‘Mother’ Track Listing:
1. About America 7. Dance Again
2. Still Waters 8. Not Misunderstood
3. Tired 9. River To Cry
4. Letter To Myself 10. Will You Love Me
5. Hold Your Tongue 11. What Fools Believe
6. Waiting
UK & Ireland Shows:
March
Fri 22nd Kingston Upon Thames Banquet Records (6.00pm)
Sat 23rd London Rough Trade East (7pm)
Mon 25th Leeds The Vinyl Whistle (7.00pm)
Tues 26th Edinburgh The Queen’s Hall
Weds 27th Belfast The Deer’s Head
Thurs 28th Dublin The Workman’s Cellar
Sun 31st Birmingham O2 Institute 3
April
Tues 2nd Manchester Gorilla
Weds 3rd Leeds Brudenell Social Club
Thurs 4th Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Fri 5th Sheffield Leadmill
Sun 7th Bristol The Fleece
Mon 8th Brighton Komedia
Thurs 11th Norwich Arts Centre
Sat 13th Cardiff Tramshed
May
Fri 31st Oxford O2 Academy
June
Sat 1st London Lafayette
ALL UK DATES ARE ON THE COUNTRY LOWDOWN GIG GUIDE.
Ticket link here: https://tix.to/TWHPR