Here’s a live performance of ‘Poor Little Rich Girl’ from Hertfordshire-based duo Tranquility Beach. With just Molly’s voice and Ben’s lap steel, the pair are capable of producing an incredibly full and atmospheric sound during their live shows, such as their sets at Cambridge Folk and Maverick festivals this summer. Molly’s voice is powerful and clear, soaring over Ben’s rhythmic playing style. His distinctive, over-driven sound is created by banging, palming, plucking and tapping, resulting in sustained notes, hypnotic loops and forceful distortion.
At the time ‘Poor Little Rich Girl’ was released, Ben said: “We can’t wait for the release of our second single. It was a really fun one to write and produce.” Molly added: “The track was a bit of a Frankenstein’s monster as we combined two songs we’d written previously. Ben had this riff he’d been playing around with on an acoustic guitar for a while. He picked up his slide guitar one day and it totally brought the track to life.”
Guitarist Ben says of the pair’s sound: “Most of our tracks are built from percussion loops and big ‘in-your-face’ guitars, which create the stage for Molly’s incredible voice. We find that people first see us and are interested initially in my guitar as I’m playing with it lying on my lap and you don’t see too many lap steel players round here. Then what really knocks them off their feet is Molly’s voice.” Indeed, the quality of Molly’s vocals have been recognised with her solo work featuring on BBC Introducing East.
Also included below is a YouTube short, featuring an extract from 2022 single ‘Only One’, an engaging song about humanity’s relationship with the natural world with an outstanding, powerful lap steel solo from Ben. The duo said of this single: “We’re so excited to share this song with the world. It’s a song that means a lot to us and that we’ve thrown all our passion into. It’s about looking after this beautiful planet and making the space to share it with everything else that lives here. ‘Only One’ has been in the works for some time now and we can’t wait to share it.”
This well-produced, polished short gives a real sense of what to expect from the forthcoming first album from Tranquility Beach. The songs started life in their home studio and are in the process of being mixed and mastered by Al Scott, who has worked with Joe Strummer and David Gray. While we look forward to a release date for the album, check out these two absorbing singles. Enjoy.
