Montreal garage-pop unit Nancy Pants dropped their debut full-length last fall and have spent much of 2015 on the road and playing festivals. Frontwoman Ohara Hale has nevertheless managed to find some time to devote to her single-name solo project Ohara, and she's revealed plans for her debut album.
Titled Amory Jun, the new record is slated for release in October. It was co-produced by Hale and Luke Loseth and marks a departure from the raucous noise of Nancy Pants. It follows Ohara's debut EP Hallways, which was released in the spring of 2014.
"I get out all my energy with Nancy and Ohara is more of a lullaby," Hale said.
The current setup features Hale with a classical acoustic guitar and occasionally cellist Justin Wright, resulting in a simple, gentle and intimate sound. It was recorded in Hale's apartment, which she likens to a garden — featuring "bits of driftwood, seashells, amethysts, and rain." The shells and sticks even feature as audio samples in some of the new songs.
Hale's solo musical project points out the beauty of paradox — managing to be "both slow and upbeat, both vulnerable and resilient, both gentle and assertive," the music shows off a softer, but more thoughtful side to the multifaceted artist, who also does work as a visual artist, children's author, illustrator, writer, art director, animator, photographer, and graphic artist. She further the material from Ohara as "very organic and raw but also lucid dream-like."
It's "as if we (you the listener and I the speaker) are on a very smooth rock in the middle of a jet black lake surrounded by foggy mountains or we are sitting within a lush garden in the early hours of the morning," she said in a statement. "Dewy and floral."
The first sampling of that sound comes courtesy of the album's title track, and Exclaim! is streaming the exclusive premiere of "Amory Jun" in the player below.
Performing as Ohara, Hale will open for Katie Moore at the Rialto in Montreal this Thursday (August 27), and you can see a few of her other upcoming shows listed below.
Nancy Pants, meanwhile, are working on their sophomore album and are currently piecing together a video project to coincide with the new music. Stay tuned for more details on the band's upcoming projects, but for now, give Ohara's debut single "Amory Jun" a listen in the player below. The accompanying visuals were directed by Hale, animated by Michael Winder and illustrated by Tallulah Fontaine.
Amory Jun:
1. Amory Jun
2. Closer
3. Summer Wind
4. Bones
5. Light
6. Orion's Belt
7. Skipping Stone
8. There You Are
Tour dates:
08/27 Montreal, QC - The Rialto (Passovah Festival)
08/29 Montreal, QC - Casa del Popolo (Passovah Festival) *
09/18 Montreal, QC - Empire Exchange (Pop Montreal)
09/19 Montreal, QC - Divan Orange (Pop Montreal) *
* as Nancy Pants
Titled Amory Jun, the new record is slated for release in October. It was co-produced by Hale and Luke Loseth and marks a departure from the raucous noise of Nancy Pants. It follows Ohara's debut EP Hallways, which was released in the spring of 2014.
"I get out all my energy with Nancy and Ohara is more of a lullaby," Hale said.
The current setup features Hale with a classical acoustic guitar and occasionally cellist Justin Wright, resulting in a simple, gentle and intimate sound. It was recorded in Hale's apartment, which she likens to a garden — featuring "bits of driftwood, seashells, amethysts, and rain." The shells and sticks even feature as audio samples in some of the new songs.
Hale's solo musical project points out the beauty of paradox — managing to be "both slow and upbeat, both vulnerable and resilient, both gentle and assertive," the music shows off a softer, but more thoughtful side to the multifaceted artist, who also does work as a visual artist, children's author, illustrator, writer, art director, animator, photographer, and graphic artist. She further the material from Ohara as "very organic and raw but also lucid dream-like."
It's "as if we (you the listener and I the speaker) are on a very smooth rock in the middle of a jet black lake surrounded by foggy mountains or we are sitting within a lush garden in the early hours of the morning," she said in a statement. "Dewy and floral."
The first sampling of that sound comes courtesy of the album's title track, and Exclaim! is streaming the exclusive premiere of "Amory Jun" in the player below.
Performing as Ohara, Hale will open for Katie Moore at the Rialto in Montreal this Thursday (August 27), and you can see a few of her other upcoming shows listed below.
Nancy Pants, meanwhile, are working on their sophomore album and are currently piecing together a video project to coincide with the new music. Stay tuned for more details on the band's upcoming projects, but for now, give Ohara's debut single "Amory Jun" a listen in the player below. The accompanying visuals were directed by Hale, animated by Michael Winder and illustrated by Tallulah Fontaine.
Amory Jun:
1. Amory Jun
2. Closer
3. Summer Wind
4. Bones
5. Light
6. Orion's Belt
7. Skipping Stone
8. There You Are
Tour dates:
08/27 Montreal, QC - The Rialto (Passovah Festival)
08/29 Montreal, QC - Casa del Popolo (Passovah Festival) *
09/18 Montreal, QC - Empire Exchange (Pop Montreal)
09/19 Montreal, QC - Divan Orange (Pop Montreal) *
* as Nancy Pants
