Lush co-founder Emma Anderson has announced her debut solo album. Pearlies is set to arrive October 20 via Sonic Cathedral, and its lead single, ‘Bend the Round’, is out today. Check out its Kieran Evans-directed video below, and scroll down for the LP’s cover artwork and tracklist.
Anderson began working on Pearlies after Lush’s 2016 reunion, whose abrupt end left her feeling disillusioned. “I thought we were in it for the long term, so some of these songs – or even just parts of them – were actually going to be for Lush,” she explained in press materials. “That didn’t happen, so I had these songs and bits of music that I didn’t know what to do with.”
When Anderson started recording home demos with the intention of writing for film or TV and enlisting another vocalist, her collaborators, including cellist and string arranger Audrey Riley and, later, Cocteau Twins’ Robin Guthrie, encouraged her to sing her own songs. “He basically said, ‘If you don’t sing, I am not going to do it’, so I decided I would,” Anderson said, recalling a conversation with Guthrie. “I am not someone that feels comfortable in the spotlight, so for me to take centre stage, metaphorically speaking, was quite a big leap.”
Pearlies was produced by James Chapman and took shape over three weeks in rural Northamptonshire. “He turned out to be exactly the right person,” Anderson commented. “People tend to view James as primarily an electronic producer but he has a lot more strings to his bow. He has a wide range of tastes and also an encyclopaedic knowledge of music which meant he was able to bring a huge amount to the album. He really got it.”
The album also features contributions from Richard Oakes of Suede. “I didn’t know Richard back in the ’90s, but it turned that he was a bit of a Lush fan,” Anderson added. “I have a part-time day job as a bookkeeper, and I do bits of work for the Suede camp. I got to know him through that and we became friends. I asked if he would play some guitar on the record and, to my delight, he said yes!”
Pearlies Cover Artwork:
Pearlies Tracklist:
1. I Was Miles Away
2. Bend The Round
3. Inter Light
4. Taste The Air
5. Xanthe
6. The Presence
7. Willow And Mallow
8. Tonight Is Mine
9. For A Moment
10. Clusters