Gengahr swiftly follow-up their simply stunning second album with a stripped-back EP and a UK headline tour.
Gengahr’s gorgeous second album ‘Where Wildness Grows’ didn’t take long to become rooted in my brain, with its shimmering psychedelic pop soundscapes combined with a lyrical intimacy delivered by Felix Bushe’s amazing voice. So, I’m thrilled that the North London four-piece – Bushe (vocals/guitar), John Victor (guitar), Danny Ward (drums) & Hugh Schulte (bass) – have released an EP featuring four stripped-back versions of tracks from the album, allowing me to fall in love with them all over again.
The ‘I’ll Be Waiting’ EP (available now on digital platforms) features both the album and acoustic recordings of the title track, along with acoustic versions of ‘Mallory’, ‘Where Wildness Grows’, and ‘Rising Tides’. The band produced the sessions themselves over a series of weekends in London during Spring this year. “At first, the idea of making acoustic versions of our music felt quite daunting” Bushe notes, “but there’s something beautifully honest and vulnerable about presenting the songs in this way, and we really hope people enjoy these different representations as much as we did putting them together.” He needn’t have worried, these tracks are indeed honest and vulnerable and show off both their musical prowess and their ability to write heart-achingly beautiful songs. This new collection of songs is a real ray of light and warmth through the April showers.
Following a run of packed-out European dates over recent weeks, Gengahr are currently on tour in the UK (dates below) and recreated the beguiling beauty and impressive power of the new album for an enthralled audience at King Tut’s in Glasgow earlier this week. If you haven’t caught them live yet, I would recommend you do so soon – they are on their way to much bigger stages, as demonstrated by their forthcoming headline show at London’s Koko.
Until Gengahr release more music or announce another tour, I’ll be (impatiently) waiting.
UK tour dates
28th April – The Thekla, Bristol
29th April – Joiners, Southampton
30th April – Portland Arms, Cambridge
2nd May – The Haunt, Brighton
3rd May – Koko, London
4th May – The Globe, Cardiff
10th May – Focus Wales 2018, Wrexham
