The Hanging Stars Share Video for “Crippled Shining Blues” From New Album Over the Silvery Lake out 11 March

Just before the release of The Hanging Stars‘ debut album Over the Silvery Lake (out on 11 March via The Great Pop Supplement/Crippled Crow), the band reveal the video for latest single “Crippled Shining Blues“. The video was shot in Spain and put together byLeon Dufficy of Still Corners, Hush Arbors and Psychic Markers.

Blending folk pastoralism with swampy 60s Americana, The Hanging Stars sound like the missing link between the California desert sun and the grey skies of London Town. The album was recorded between LA, Nashville and Walthamstow, with each of these vastly different places leaving an indelible mark on the songs. The band play an album launch gig at The Finsbury in London on Friday 4 March and follow with a UK and German tour over the next few months.

The single “Crippled Shining Blues” is wonderfully rhythmical replete with a wandering bassline and complimentary riffs from both guitar and pedal steel. The sweetness of the verse is complimented by a dark and brooding chorus, which in turns gives way to a surprisingly melodious transition. The prime drive time FM radio feel, mixed with melancholic chords and lyrics of love, loss and death make for an enthralling combination.

The Hanging Stars are essentially a loose collective of people who weave together a blissed-out psychedelic tapestry. The core band is made up of songwriter, singer and guitarist Richard Olson (The See See, Eighteenth Day of May), Sam Ferman on bass andPaulie Cobra on drums, also featuring Horse (Dan Michelson and the Coastguards) on pedal steel, Patrick Ralla (The Alan Tyler Show) on banjo, guitar and assorted instruments and Phil Anderson on Keyboards. They jam rather than write and hang out rather than rehearse, harnessing a kind of tipsy euphoria resplendent with luscious arrangements and glorious vocal harmonies.

The Hanging Stars place themselves firmly as part of a long folk tradition encompassing European and North American influences – as a continuation rather than a pastiche of these styles. This is the sound of a band really coming in to their own, fully formed and in no doubt of their vision. With Over the Silvery Lake they succeed in producing a record, which has the country, blues and folk traditions at its heart. And what a big heart it is. Embrace it.

“a hazy, desert-dream of a song, nicely sharpened with steely-eyed guitars, Mersey-laced harmonies and just a whiff of the Gun Club.” – Guardian

“Swampy psychedelia that recalls the Medway Delta as much as the Mississippi, the band’s new single neatly conjoins these influences.” – Clash