Piney Gir
Announces new album You Are Here
Due out on 1 November via STRS Records
Piney Gir is delighted to announce her new album You Are Here, which is due for release on 1 November 2019 via STRS Records. Here she shares the opening track “Admiral Fleets” with a video directed by Nicholas Broten from the band Fonda 500. They will be joining the bill for her pre-album launch show at London’s The Lexington on 17 September 2019 – ticket link here. Coincidentally, this gig marks the 15 year anniversary, almost to the day, when both Piney and Fonda 500 released their debut albums via Truck Records.
“Admiral Fleets” harks back to wholesome, retro-psych pop with soaring, sunny Beach Boy-inspired harmonies and a real Mellotron; mixed with spikey synths and wailing sax worthy of Roxy Music. The lyrics twist poisonous bad times into something more hopeful. People die, friends let you down, times get tough, mental health suffers in the face of adversity, but we keep going. This song is a reminder to carry on loving and living, not just trying to get through it but to embrace the silver linings. The video mixes rough found footage of war heroes and muddy trenches, with animated hearts and flower power; reminiscent of 60’s war protests, yet still a relevant message in these current weird times.
The album You Are Here was very nearly called It’s Been A Shit Year For Everyone but she didn’t think it was very classy to complain about her own bad time; looking around her it seemed like everyone was going through the same sort of crisis, making her plight a shared one and in that sense a communal concern. There was a lot of darkness in the making of this album and the songs summarise her journey with loss, betrayal and disheartenment at the state of the world. Piney’s always been a glass-half-full kind of person, so there is an underlying optimism to it, but if you dig deeper you’ll hear lyrics tracing her journey with depression, and observations about the general fucked-upness of what’s going on around us… Trump, Brexit, #metoo, global warming, etc… what’s a girl do to? Piney wrote a record about this collective experience, both broadly relatable and intimately personal.
Genre-wise, Piney has been known to pioneer electro, alt-country, folktronic, 60’s retro-pop and krautrock, but her new material settles at angular art-pop, with deliberate spaces and spikes. There are still echoes of the signature Piney sound, with strong melodies, tuneful riffs and lyrics that sound sweet at first listen and evolve to a kind of dark & twisted storytelling. Piney’s inner Laura Palmer emerges here with a tender bitter-sweetness, reminiscent of post punk basement bars and cherry martinis.
Originally hailing from Kansas but having lived in London for many years, Piney is a prolific and prodigious musician. You Are Here is Piney’s seventh record and it’s her most realised one yet. From the wide-eyed debut Peakahokahoo, through to The Piney Gir Country Roadshow period and 2015’s mR. hYDE’S wILD rIDE, Piney has evolved and deepened her trademark sweetness-with-strychnine aesthetic. She has gained substantial critical acclaim and a devoted fan-base. For the past three years she has been a singer in Gaz Coombes’ band and had the privilege of supporting him on tour around the UK, Europe and America, she also toured with Ride and sang with Noel Gallagher on tour and on his forthcoming singles.
Joining her in the studio for You Are Here is her regular collaborator and guitar player, Garo Nahoulakian (who also plays in Gaz Coombes’ band), Moshi Moshi pop darling Sweet Baboo appears on the album, playing saxophone on “Peanut Butter Malt Shop Heartthrob” and “Dreamcatcher” as well as duetting with Piney on “Variety Show” and Willie J Healey sings guest vocals on “Puppy Love.”
It may have been “A Shit Year For Everyone…” but she changed the title to You Are Here, because it has a zen and mindful quality to it. Through all the hardship, the album is essentially about rebirth and looking ahead to happier times. As Piney explains; “I didn’t want to surrender to the darkness. This album has a fighting spirit to it. Sometimes we need to look at the difficult stuff head-on and give ourselves a little pep talk, chances are you’re not alone. You are here and so am I.”
Piney GirYou Are HereTracklisting
1. Admiral Fleets
2. The Great Pretend
3. Puppy Love
4. Peanut Butter Malt Shop Heartthrob
5. Dreamcatcher
6. Variety Show
7. Careaway
8. Little Cop
9. We’ll Always Have Paris
10. Evensong
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