The High Wire announce details of their new album ‘Found In Honey’ – due for release on 14th July.
Lead single ‘LNOE’ (out 30th June) is an epic ride, a towering string-driven pop song that purposefully steps the band away from the shoegaze fuzz of their previous albums – 2010’s ‘The Sleep Tape’ and 2008’s ‘Ahead of the Rain’.
We wanted to push Ross’ melody and lyrics to the fore and tried to leave the production as clear, honest and emotional as possible. Davide Rossi (Goldfrapp) played all the strings, layering them up and weaving around the song's simple repetitive riff,” says founding member Tim Crompton.
‘Found In Honey’ was produced by The High Wire, Andy Rugg and Rik Simpson (PJ Harvey, Portishead) and was recorded at Coldplay’s Beehive Studio in London.
Writing, recording and living in the City had a major impact on the tone and feel of the album and provided many of the lyrical themes for the songs. And whilst R&B, psychedelia, shoegaze and folk can all be heard on the record - it’s the pop influences that resonate loudest, with key nods to 60s Motown, New Order, Soul II Soul and Gorillaz.
“We wanted to make a daylight soundtrack, clear and bright, completely unselfconscious and free from effects. We stuck to this throughout the writing and recording process…” says Crompton.
On ‘Found in Honey’, the band decided to make their sound as clear and ‘hi-fi’ as possible, something they’ve previously fought against. The step up in production is noticeable, and with no distorting effects, Alexia Hagen’s vocals are allowed to shine. The opening track ‘Last Invitation’ is a case in point; her directness provides a disarming entrée on what proves to be most instrumentally minimal cut on the record.
‘Angelspeech’ was originally written for another artist but its pure pop melody and electro rhythms ultimately gave the band a starting point and approach for many other tracks on the record. The swaggering hooks of ‘Under A Spell’, the anthemic indie rush of ‘Still’ and the blissed out Beach Boy-isms of ‘The Thames & The Tide’ and ‘Radio On’ all benefit from the space they are given and the willingness to experiment outside the dream-pop margins.
The London-based trio have gained radio support over the past year from Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, Radio 2 and XFM.
The High Wire began as a solo vehicle for singer/songwriter Tim Crompton. Soon after the completion of ‘Ahead of the Rain’ in 2008, the line up expanded and now counts west coast Canadian Alexia Hagen and UK native Ross Forrest as core members alongside Crompton. band have previously played festivals including V Festival, Glastonbury (BBC Introducing) and CMJ.
Tracklisting: 1. Last Invitation, 2. LNOE, 3. Angelspeech, 4. The Thames & The Tide, 5. Still, 6. Radio On, 7. Under A Spell, 8. Cinch, 9. 20,000 Streets
