We recently reported that Calgary-bred, Montreal-based art-rock outfit Braids had a "beautiful, deeply emotional" record in the bag, and now the plans for its release have been revealed.
Titled Deep in the Iris, the new LP will arrive on April 28 via Arbutus/Flemish Eye. The new songs arose from the band's attempt to relax and reconnect, as explained in a statement from the band's Facebook page:
Last year, around this day, we were driving across America to a cabin in the dry woods of Prescott Arizona, to start a new record. We wanted to leave winter, to leave what we were familiar with, to go to a place where we felt sunlight on our face, a great expanse when we looked out, roads that we had not walked, a sky that was new. Just us three, chopping fire wood, taking hikes, cooking meals. We didn't attempt to "write" anything — we spent a lot of time breaking down barriers of self scrutiny, judgement, expectations, pushing to be raw and vulnerable in front of one another, focusing on process rather than goal. The intention was to create a space where we felt supported by one another, safe to let anything out, encouraged to see an idea through to the end, a conscious attempt to cultivate curiosity because it's so easy to let it sleep.
What resulted was a new album. The band have offered up a sampling of the material by sharing new track "Miniskirt." Opening with piano and the buoyant vocals of Raphaelle Standell-Preston, it builds into a synth-heavy ode to the unfair double standards of gendered clothing.
Throughout the album, Standell-Preston uses her lyrics to tackled other heavy issues like pornography, abuse and slutshaming. A press release notes that her "emotional vulnerability becomes a triumphant weapon in its own right: scything through wrongdoing and shame with equal aplomb, and clearing the way for the many others who will find resonance in the bravery of these lyrics. Written from a place of inspiring strength and unblinking lucidity, the lyricism of this record is a cathartic gift."
Pre-orders of the album are available here, with the vinyl orders arriving on limited white/green marbled vinyl with a 16-page photobook. You can see the album artwork above, check out the tracklisting below, and scroll past that to give "Miniskirt" a listen.
Deep in the Iris:
1. Letting Go
2. Taste
3. Blondie
4. Happy When
5. Miniskirt
6. Getting Tired
7. Sore Eyes
8. Bunny Rose
9. Warm Like Summer
Titled Deep in the Iris, the new LP will arrive on April 28 via Arbutus/Flemish Eye. The new songs arose from the band's attempt to relax and reconnect, as explained in a statement from the band's Facebook page:
Last year, around this day, we were driving across America to a cabin in the dry woods of Prescott Arizona, to start a new record. We wanted to leave winter, to leave what we were familiar with, to go to a place where we felt sunlight on our face, a great expanse when we looked out, roads that we had not walked, a sky that was new. Just us three, chopping fire wood, taking hikes, cooking meals. We didn't attempt to "write" anything — we spent a lot of time breaking down barriers of self scrutiny, judgement, expectations, pushing to be raw and vulnerable in front of one another, focusing on process rather than goal. The intention was to create a space where we felt supported by one another, safe to let anything out, encouraged to see an idea through to the end, a conscious attempt to cultivate curiosity because it's so easy to let it sleep.
What resulted was a new album. The band have offered up a sampling of the material by sharing new track "Miniskirt." Opening with piano and the buoyant vocals of Raphaelle Standell-Preston, it builds into a synth-heavy ode to the unfair double standards of gendered clothing.
Throughout the album, Standell-Preston uses her lyrics to tackled other heavy issues like pornography, abuse and slutshaming. A press release notes that her "emotional vulnerability becomes a triumphant weapon in its own right: scything through wrongdoing and shame with equal aplomb, and clearing the way for the many others who will find resonance in the bravery of these lyrics. Written from a place of inspiring strength and unblinking lucidity, the lyricism of this record is a cathartic gift."
Pre-orders of the album are available here, with the vinyl orders arriving on limited white/green marbled vinyl with a 16-page photobook. You can see the album artwork above, check out the tracklisting below, and scroll past that to give "Miniskirt" a listen.
Deep in the Iris:
1. Letting Go
2. Taste
3. Blondie
4. Happy When
5. Miniskirt
6. Getting Tired
7. Sore Eyes
8. Bunny Rose
9. Warm Like Summer
