Here’s the beautifully-written ‘The Mermaid & The Sailor’, a song with the sinister, gothic feel of a murder ballad from Hannah Rose Platt. The narrative detail, tone, instrumentation and vocal performances bring to mind Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue’s ‘Where The Wild Roses Grow’ and this is equally atmospheric. Throughout, the captivating voices of Hannah Rose Platt and Ed Harcourt are truly impressive and they sweep us along the song’s musical currents. The story, reinforced by the animated video, is a metaphor for the insistent pull of damaging addiction. Hannah explains the song’s theme: “The Mermaid and the Sailor is a hypnotic ‘Sailor’s Lament’ framed as a conversation exploring addiction, between the Sailor (the addict) and the mermaid (his addiction) whose siren song constantly tempts him back into the water. Featuring bewitching vocals from the magnificent Ed Harcourt!”
‘The Mermaid & The Sailor’ is from Hannah Rose Platt’s brand new album, ‘Deathbed Confessions’, which is out now. As well as vocal and production duties, Ed Harcourt played various instruments on the album, including pianos, drums, baritone guitars, Optigan, synths and percussion. He says of the new record: “Hannah is a consummate storyteller and as soon as I heard her songs I was happily bewitched. I think we’re both very similar in the fact that we are obsessive film aficionados and therefore think in a more visual way in our approach to the music and the sounds. What I love about working with Hannah is that she is very free and totally open to my delusional bouts of grandeur and hopefully you, the listener, will hear the love and the pathos and the dark humour that we have managed to commit to tape in equal measure. Congratulations Hannah and I can’t wait for the world to hear this dazzling humdinger.” ‘Deathbed Confessions’ is a concept album that was inspired by classic horror. Its songs are like a series of unsettling fireside tales, featuring ghost trains, haunted houses, murder and other such gothic delights.
This song is like a dark folk tale, unsettling and beautiful and utterly captivating.
