Eugene Quell Debuts “London Pollen” via Stereogum
New EP “I Will Work The Land” Due Out December 11th
on Exploding In Sound (US) and Sonic Anhedonic Recording Company (UK)
“We’ve got to pull the plug, or it could go on“. There’s an optimism deep within the melancholy that seeps from Eugene Quell’s new single “London Pollen” that can’t be overlooked, the desire to an end. A hazy and false sense of ease permeates as Quell mastermind Toby Hayes sings articulated and poetic lines over a slow trickling lullaby melody before the eventual buzzsaw of distorted guitars ring out in juxtaposition. Offering a minimalistic approach with sparse arrangements, the airy nature of the song is focused and dynamic, slinking by with great attention to detail and tonality, welcoming you into the fog. This is just the start, a new beginning.
“London Pollen” is the first single from Eugene Quell’s latest EP, I Will Work The Land, due out December 11th via Exploding In Sound Records (US) and Sonic Anhedonic Recording Company (UK). After two exceptional releases in 2014, the band have returned with another batch of fuzzed out pop brilliance, offering something deceiving familiar yet utterly unique. There’s an inescapable warmth that oozes from the production of Eugene Quell’s latest EP, an inviting lo-fi bliss that lends itself to Hayes’ woozy songwriting.
Stereogum premiered the song, offering, “Hayes’ lyrics gnaw on the individual insecurities that surface when you’re in a vulnerable state, and those intimate admissions peek out of all of his songs regardless of their sonic consistency.” Expanding upon their thoughts, Stereogum shared, “the muddled scale that repeats throughout isn’t too far off from some of the short, ascendant interludes heard on the Velvet Underground’s self-titled full-length. “London Pollen” sounds like melancholic, fogged-in Sundays spent alone.”
http://www.stereogum.com/1842708/eugene-quell-london-pollen-stereogum-premiere/mp3s/
Eugene Quell is Toby Hayes. But not. Quell came to life when Hayes began experimenting with home recordings in 2012. Limited by lack of equipment, Quell’s early sound was more defined by restrictions than anything else.
On the first day of 2014, a self titled CD EP was released, shortly followed by a 10″ EP in the Summer. After some tours, festivals and many months travelling Asia, Quell is back with the release of his third record, ‘I Will Work The Land‘. The four track EP contains the only surviving recordings from a severley culled session at a studio in Devon, Summer of 2014.
Now, having learned just how important production is to the project, Quell is once more going solo at his make-shift studio, forming his sound, working at writing the best songs he can possibly write, and aiming to create beyond the brittle confines of genre.
Catching the soul of demo recordings, the character of instruments and the vibe of the take is all that matters now. Because from that place of pure self expression and freedom, you can go anywhere, and you can be anyone.
“Imagine that!”
12/11 – London, UK @ The Lexington w/ Tangled Hair
I Will Work The Land Track List:
1. London Pollen [stream/embed]
2. Song for Marla and Lucas
3. Soft Coin
4. RRW
No Comments