We’ve been big fans of Piney Gir ever since stumbling across her mesmeric solo show quite by accident when she supported Japanese punks MikaBomb in the upstairs room at The Garage fifteen years ago. Since then her chameleonic career has seen her morph from sultry electro to retro-tinged dreampop via garage rock girl gang The Schla La Las, the gingham and pigtails of her Country Roadshow and many more equally wonderful forms.
It’s impossible to pick a favourite Piney era, but from what we’ve heard so far, this latest incarnation, which follows recent performances around the world as part of former Supergrass frontman Gaz Coombes’ band, is going to be up there with the best. Previous single ‘The Great Pretend’ (as featured on the Joyzine:15 charity compilation) was a lush, fantastical trip and new track ‘Dreamcatcher’, with its deep funk bassline, playful lyrics and ethereal backing vocals, is equally wondrous, but there’s a darker core beneath the sparkly surface as Piney herself explains.
“I wrote Dreamcatcher when I was in a dark place, it seemed like absolutely everything had gone wrong, love, work, health, family “best friends” not being good friends, just general hard knocks and feeling pretty isolated while facing some pretty big life stuff. Outwardly I was projecting the usual cheery Piney because that’s what everyone expects from me, but I was the lowest of the low; the lowest I’ve ever been, pretending to be happy was making that isolation even worse. The only way I know how to cope with that emotion is to channel it into something creative and my default setting is hopeful, I am always looking for the silver lining no mater how dark the clouds are. Music is a healthy outlet for me. I feel the most myself when I’m doing music stuff. When I said this album was about mental health, it really was. Without wanting to sound dramatic, I think making this album saved me from utter breakdown. Music is my mental health stabiliser, I feel very lucky to have it as an outlet.”
The track is accompanied by an animated video by Geoff Howell featuring a fighty penguin on a road-trip through the dusty freeways of the US, and we’re delighted to bring you an exclusive premiere of the video below.
Piney Gir plays the Sebright Arms in London on 15th October before heading to Oxford for the Ritual Union festival on the 20th. She has also recently launched a new punk zine titled ‘Drunk Cookery’, a collection of healthy and quick recipes for those late nights when you get home from the pub in desperate need of sustenance, with loads of rock’n’roll references, including using songs instead of timings.
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