Video Premiere: The Often Herd “Cool Summer Rain”

Photo credit: Amelia Read Photography

Here’s the premiere of the latest single from Newcastle-based band The Often Herd. ‘Cool Summer Rain’ is a vibrant, upbeat number that could soundtrack your summer. A beautifully tuneful vocal performance and lush West Coast-style harmonies are at the heart of this light, bright song, which follows up the band’s 2022 debut album, “Where the Big Lamp Shines”. For the new single, the band’s traditional sound is enriched with additional musical textures from John Hirst’s drums and Liam Fender’s Wurlitzer piano. Evan Davies delivers delightful mandolin with his notes dancing around the neck, while more layers are added by jazz bassist Sam Quintana and Niles Krieger’s flawless, flowing fiddle – his notes ranging high and low in swirling currents.

Just as we’re swept along by the band members’ outstanding musicianship, we’re also captivated by the clever accompanying video. The rediscovery of an old photograph leads us on a journey into the past, ending with the scene that is preserved forever in the Polaroid.

The band’s sound is influenced by a range of styles, from bluegrass and folk to pop melodies and psychedelia, and the result is fresh, musically layered and absorbing. Rupert Hughes, guitarist and writer of the song, says: “We don’t try to write bluegrass songs. We just write what comes naturally to us and arrange it using the textures we have at our disposal. Our influences stretch far and wide and that really shows when we convert non-bluegrass audiences to our music.”

This is the first of two singles that will be released this year and comes just before a series of festival appearances, including their debut at Glastonbury in June. Later in the year, The Often Herd will also be at IBMA in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for their American debut. It looks like a busy summer for The Often Herd – check them out and enjoy those infectious hooks and joyful harmonies.

 

About Andrew Frolish 1699 Articles
From up north but now hiding in rural Suffolk. An insomniac music-lover. Love discovering new music to get lost in - country, singer-songwriters, Americana, rock...whatever. Currently enjoying Nils Lofgren, Ferris & Sylvester, Tommy Prine, Jarrod Dickenson, William Prince, Frank Turner, Our Man in the Field...
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