You Bring Me Dead Flowers

By ariotousliving on Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

What better way to start than to tell you all about our project-in-progress: ‘You Bring Me Dead Flowers’

It has always been our ethos that if you can’t sit down and do a rendition of a song with just an acoustic guitar then it’s not a song worth pursuing. The album has been recorded with this idea firmly in mind.  We’ve stripped the music right back to let the songs, the lyrics and ideas, really shine through.  The core of every song on the album is one acoustic guitar and vocals; we’ve kept them as simple and, indeed, as pure as possible.  It’s very different to anything we’ve attempted before but we’re more excited about this recording project than we’ve been about anything.

Echoing across the album is a real late 50’s/early 60’s ‘doowop’ feel.  With upfront strings dancing in and out and layered vocal harmonies we’ve really borrowed from what we feel was a golden age of songwriting.  Coupled with this is a very Motown-esque attitude to music: the 2 and half minute pop song. It is no coincidence that there were a lot of Shirelles songs being played in the house at the time of writing/recording. The vocals on the tracks too mimic the likes of Shirley Owens in their naieve-sounding, pure tone. With the stripped back nature of the new tracks it is not just the songs that stand out but Kitty’s vocals too that really sparkle. Kitty has developed a much softer, fragile voice in tackling these songs; a far cry from the Debbie Harry influenced sounds of previous albums.

Perhaps the most exciting thing for us about this album is the collective of Tavistock’s best musicians who have so kindly agreed to be Lost Boys and work their magic on our music.  Fiddle players, pianists, singers, harpists, guitarists and percussionists (lots of ‘ists’!) have collaborated with us over the past 6 months in the studio and it’s been so exciting to have the input of the best local players.

We’ve been recording at Aardvark Studios in Sourton (where indeed we recorded ‘Losing The Habit’ back when Kitty was just 12!) with the brilliant Jeff Boxall.  ‘All Over You’, title track of the album, was recorded at the world-famous Sawmill Studio in Cornwall.   The whole album is going to Mark Sheppard of Fierce Kitten Records for mixing input which we’re very pumped about as he has a Midas’ touch when it comes to adding that extra something.

We expect to finish the album in it’s entirety in the early summer

Thanks for the continued support,

Kitty and The Lost Boys

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