LIVERPOOL’S Hannah Merrick and Craig Whittle who, after working as musicians separately for years, met in a bar job, and decided to make beautiful music together as King Hannah, have just dropped their second single after signing to City Slang, “Meal Deal”. Have a watch of the video, below.
It comes after the stark, emotionally naked and wistful shade of their debut, “Crème Brûlée”, which we took a look at and wholly approved of, here.
Both tracks are a come-hither for their debut EP for City Slang, Tell Me Your Mind And I’ll Tell You Mine, which will be released on November 20th.
“Meal Deal” is a lovely, Lynchian exercise in downbeat Americana, exploring the hardscrabble and suddenly shifting life you have while looking for somewhere to live; spiders in baths and overpriced flats. It has bags of atmosphere and brilliance; you can see why City Slang, home to Lambchop, snapped them up.
Hannah says of the video: “We had the pleasure of shooting ‘Meal Deal’ at the beautiful and iconic Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool, which Craig directed, shot and edited.
“We wanted to utilise the unique space we had; it’s such an old theatre with all these unsettling green corridors and dark corners, which complement the moodiness of the song really well.
“We also wanted to make it theatrical, and so the stage, spotlights and empty auditorium became a location that the video could build towards, almost like a finale.
“Hopefully it has that indie, homemade feel with a touch of drama and suspense.”
The stars had evidently aligned to bring the pair together. Hannah grew up in Tan Lan, Wales, which contends for the title of the world’s smallest village, and can’t remember a time when she didn’t want to be a singer.
Craig started playing guitar aged 13 and was taught Jackson Browne songs by his older brother; within a year he was playing in bands. All this changed as soon as they formed King Hannah.
“It’s just about finding the right people. When I go to Craig with some chords and lyrics, he just gets it,” says Hannah.
“If we hadn’t found each other, I don’t know where we would be,” Craig affirms.
King Hannah’s six-track EP, Tell Me Your Mind And I’ll Tell You Mine. will be released by City Slang on November 20th on digital download, CD, trad black and limited creme-white vinyl. You can pre-order your copy at Bandcamp, here.
Follow King Hannah on Facebook, Bandcamp, and Instagram.
