The Howling Bells fronts-woman returns at last with her fourth solo album ‘The Weightless Hour‘ from which today’s song is taken. The new single was a lockdown written song, with quite the story behind it as Stein explains: “One of the most fluid and magical songwriting experiences I’ve ever had. Whilst escaping the hard lockdown in England, August 2020, myself and family, who were in France at the time, decided that instead of returning home, we would keep driving in the direction of Italy and take our chances. 14 hours later, we ended up at an isolated house in the middle of Tuscany. It was one of the only houses left to rent on Airbnb that day. It was situated at the top of a huge vineyard, it was the kind of dry, scorching heat that is described so beautifully in escapist novels. There was a constant soundtrack of cicadas, birds, and distant boars burrowing their way through the twisted vines below. After a couple of days exploring, I grabbed my guitar one afternoon and went to sit on a lone bench away from the house, overlooking the vineyard. It was about 35 degrees I recall, but there was still a slight rustling of the trees around me, of which the scent of figs and pines emanated. With the surrealism of the pandemic and the recent sudden death of my father lingering in the background, I was strangely at peace with my surroundings and myself in that moment. It was one of the few times in my life when I picked up a guitar and played a song without thinking about intent or process. It babbled out of me like I were rehearsing something I’d played a hundred times before. When I play it live I’m able to evoke the spirit of that moment in time. It’s about deep reflection and stillness. When recording it in the studio, the chorus of birds that just happened to be chirping in the background made it onto the track. The words, “carry me” are not so much a call to be carried by anyone in particular, but rather a call to carry oneself in the present moment.”
Juanita Stein recently finished touring with Evan Dando and in December will be touring with Travis.
