LOWPINES come to us with Americana brightness and glimmer from Brooklyn – by way of the Lake District, of all the seemingly unlikely locations. And today at Backseat Mafia we’re more than a little honoured to be premiering the first single from his new album, Sun Down Over The East River Shore. That track’s called “Weight Of The Water”, and it’s rather lovely, as you can hear below; the gleam of evening sun over easy guitar, warm harmonies in a Sam Beam vein and a little electric bite.
Lowpines is Oli Deakin, who arrived in New York from London three years ago. He’s worked previously with artists such as Swimming Bell and Benjamin Francis Leftwich and has as an array of singles and one previous full-lengther under his belt, early 2019’s In Silver Halides.
The new album was written well before the world all went weird, and is largely influenced by the excitement, mystery and anxiety of Oli’s transatlantic relocation. Oli played much of the album himself, collaborating with brother Jamie on drums – and also calling in a couple of friends: guest vocalist on the new single is Swimming Bell’s Katie Schottland, and Josh Kaufman, of Bonny Light Horseman, brings the electric guitar garlanding.
The album was laid down over the past year and a half, partly at his studio in the Big Apple and partly at his childhood home in Cumbria, bringing that particular craggy rural aesthetic into his sunshiney songs.
Oli says: “This song was written in Brooklyn at the end of a US West Coast tour. I was super tired and trying to gather my thoughts after what had been a crazy year.
“I kept thinking about this one time I got in the ocean somewhere in California, and was just annihilated by the waves. It was a kind of relief to just give up to the chaos of it for a minute and see where I washed up. It was one of those songs that just all tumbled out at once, like someone left the water on.
“Most of the music was recorded the day I wrote it, but I later got my friends Katie Schottland (Swimming Bell) and Josh Kaufman (Bonny Light Horseman) to sing and play on it.”
Lowpines’ Sun Down Over The East River Shore is set to be released later in the summer by Adventure Club Records; make sure you bookmark Lowpines’ Bandcamp page and connect with Lowpines on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
