Here at The Noise Room we’ve been enjoying Smoke Fairies’ self-titled new album, set for release in North America on May 20th on Full Time Hobby. Above is the video for Eclipse Them All.
Katherine Blamire and Jessica Davies of Smoke Fairies took themselves to a remote recording studio in Kent with producer Kristofer Harris to make the record. “It was on a very old industrial estate,” says Davies, describing a strange, out of place setting that had gone from council offices to housing a bubble car garage, a tattoo parlour, and a granite workshop, feeling physically distant from anything to do with the music industry. It was there that they set about crafting the album, calling on bandmates and old touring friends such as drummer Andy Newmark, whose credits include Sly and the Family Stone, Roxy Music, and John Lennon, to help out.
Smoke Fairies had been a duo since Katherine Blamire and Jessica Davies met at school, and had spent years touring and recording together before this point, including a stretch that made them the first UK band signed to Jack White’s Third Man Records. Their two earlier albums, Through Low Light and Trees and Blood Speaks, established the ethereal, blues-inflected sound the duo built their reputation on, both produced by Head, who had also worked with PJ Harvey. The self-titled album marked their first release for Full Time Hobby, and leaned further into pop songwriting than the duo’s earlier, more hushed folk and blues records. The album’s songs often return to imagery of travel and motorway landscapes, reflecting years spent constantly on tour.
Smoke Fairies have continued to release music since, including the albums Wild Winter and Darkness Brings the Wonders Home, a singles compilation charting their catalog back to their earliest single, and, most recently, Carried in Sound.
