Between 2012 and now, Britain’s Smoke Fairies have gone back to the drawing board, re-assessing their writing techniques. “We scrapped lyrics right from the start if they were too flowery,” says Jessica Davies. “Unless the lyric really got to the point and said something, it got cut.” Katherine Blamire concurs: “As songwriters, I feel we’re really starting to sum things up properly, to nail them down. For me, it was a testament to how long we’ve been together that we could just say to each other ‘that’s shit.’ There really was no ego on this record.”
Meanwhile, the group has also dialed down the harmonies a bit whilst emphasizing their two-voice format more. Blamine says that “this album gave us the opportunity to actually be two voices, rather than two voices as one entity; two people talking to each other as distinct characters. They’re the messages that we send to each other.”
“Shadow Inversions” is the new Smoke Fairies’ single from their May self-entitled record. It’s a gorgeous, ethereal, yet propulsive tune underpinned with gentle grooves and topped with those stunning vocals that have earned the band their many accolades.
Smoke Fairies releases May 14th in the UK and May 20th in the US via Full Time Hobby.