Hurrah! Hey Elbow have returned and are on a mission with huge new song called ‘Quest’, taken from their upcoming album.
It’s been a while, but lest we forget this dynamic experimental Malmö trio (after storming not one, but three of Ja Ja Ja’s 2015 Club Nights), ‘Quest’ takes us back to everything we love about their strange and wonderful world. A song of two halves, Julia Ringdahl’s almost devotional vocals are carried rhythmically and steadily by flowing guitars and keen bass line, before the whole thing switches into a beautiful free-fall of noise and choirs.
Grounded in their musical education and an interest in jazz, improvisation and expressive fluidity, Hey Elbow are masters of creating moods and beautiful melodies. “Most of our inspiration is probably unconscious” they reveal. “We don’t talk a lot before we write a song about how we want it to turn out; we try to just let everything happen. We have never talked about in what direction Hey Elbow should move or how we want to sound.”
Out now via the diverse Swedish label, Adrian Recordings (home to YAST, Alice Boman and more) ‘Quest’ arrives ahead of three shows at this year’s Iceland Airwaves Festival in Reykjavík. If you’re heading there, be sure to check them out!
Nov 2 – Bar Ananas @ Iceland Airwaves, 15:30 – Reykjavík, Iceland
Nov 2 – Loft @ Iceland Airwaves, 19:30 – Reykjavík, Iceland
Nov 3 – Iðnó @ Iceland Airwaves, 22:40 – Reykjavík, Iceland
Nov 4 – Fritz Corner @ Kägelbanan – Stockholm, Sweden
photo credit: Alice Boman
