TWO HEADED HORSE – “SHIMMER”
A SPILL EXCLUSIVE VIDEO PREMIERE
Sometimes you just know a band is going to sweep you off your feet upon first listen. Sometimes it hits you even faster – in less than the 30 seconds often awarded to bands by A&R folks back in the days long before the age of Spotify or even Soundcloud for that matter. Upon listening to the new “Shimmer”, single by UK indie-folk collective Two Headed Horse, this is exactly the feeling one gets.
Seemingly simple songmanship, catchy melodicism, great momentum, soothing vocals and a beautiful blend of genres, Two Headed Horse offers a stunning work of musical art here. Indisputably, on “Shimmer”, they not only strike a positive chord – they also achieve perfect harmony.
And this should come as no surprise, considering that the band has been nurtured by two huge names in British music, both of whom have gone to bat for the band and taken them under their respective wings. Who are these big-wigs – they are none other than Mark Gardener of Ride and OX4 Sound Studio fame, and The Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess via the program Help Us Help Bands, Apart from helping them to reach a wider audience, this has also led to the band being booked to play Kendal Calling in August.
Today we have the pleasure of premiering this new single, which just got its first airplay on BBC6 Music thanks to host Chris Hawkins. A taster of the EP to follow this summer, which Mark Gardener engineered, mixed and mastered at his OX4 Sound studio in Oxfordshire.
Two Headed Horse, formed in 2023, is made up of James Gable (vocals, guitar), Tristan Gable (keys, guitar, backing vocals), Gary Hanratty (bass, backing vocals) and Leigh Baines (drums).
Mark Gardener explains, “When a band comes in like this, before you know, you feel and sense that intangible magic that something special is happening. It’s a transcendental kind of feeling, like being moved and transported by the band away somewhere warm and wonderful in your mind without physically leaving the room. It’s for those moments like that I built and work in this studio for, I was totally moved by this band and these songs and especially “Shimmer” which stood out for me as a single. There’s no rocket science or studio trickery here in any way it’s just the sound of a great band playing live together and it was a total pleasure to capture these recordings and moments”.
Last month, the quartet released the single “I’m Not Hidden”, described as having a “living, breathing sense of art and emotion’. This stripped back, open-tuned acoustic ballad is about returning to yourself after a long while. Now “Shimmer” brings them one step closer to the EP release.
“We’ve been itching to release “Shimmer” ever since we heard Mark’s final mix. It was one of those songs that was enjoyable to write – actually two pieces of music I was working on sort of bolted together that worked perfectly. In terms of lyrics, it’s a reflection of an attempted mugging that happened on a bridge in Reading, where my guitar was nearly stolen. The song is quite dreamlike with a sudden awakening a minute and a half in with the words ‘look back’, which were shouted across the bridge. So the song is as if remembering the events as you’re drifting off to sleep, but memory becomes confused with myth and the words conjure Orpheus and Eurydice, as comparisons with the story haunt the narrator. As the song is two pieces of music, the lyrics are two threads also, one happening above on a bridge and one, you could say, reflected in the river below,” says James Gable.
“We played the song for a few months before shaking up the whole arrangement. It felt like we spent session after session trying to nail down the right vibe for it. There was a lot of head scratching, but once we locked in recording dates, the deadline helped us be more objective. It’s also quite technically challenging for us, so we really feel a sense of achievement when we play it live and get it bang on!”
“Shimmer” will be available from fine digital music platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp. Soon the band will play the Kendal Calling festival, appearing on Tim Burgess’ curated Tim Peaks stage.
CREDITS
James Gable – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar & piano
Tristan Gable – electric guitar
Gary Hanratty – bass & vocals
Leigh Baines – drums
Written by James Gable
Arranged by James Gable, Leigh Baines, Gary Hanratty & Tristan Gable
Engineered, mixed & mastered by Mark Gardener
Recorded at OX4 Studio, Oxfordshire, UK
Artists photos by Melissa Crane
And now for the previous single, mentioned above:
Two Headed Horse
[Single]
(OX4 Sound/Wooden Pyjamas Records)
Release Date: March 26, 2024
Artist Links
Background Photo Credit: Melissa Crane
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