UK indie-folk outfit Two Headed Horse presents ‘Shimmer’, a winding and unraveling track about memories becoming entangled in myth. With newfound support from Chris Hawkins at BBC6 Music, this is the second single from their debut EP, entitled ‘I’m Not Hidden’. Slated for release in early summer, it was engineered, mixed and mastered by Mark Gardener at his OX4 Sound studio in Oxfordshire.
Two Headed Horse is James Gable (vocals, guitar), Tristan Gable (keys, guitar, backing vocals), Gary Hanratty (bass, backing vocals) and Leigh Baines (drums). Arriving on the London music scene in late 2023, they brought chaos, intimacy and the debut single ‘See For Miles (Bounder’s Motif)’ right out of the gate, followed by ‘Horatio Sees Ghosts’ soon afterwards. After two sold-out shows in January, they added another at the famous Troubadour in February 2024.
Two Headed Horse’s music recently got the attention of The Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess while they were touring the USA with Ride earlier this year. Through Help Us Help Bands, Burgess assisted them to get our debut EP over the line and to reach a wider audience. The band has since been booked to play Kendal Calling in August.
With layered guitars and ethereal piano, their music is, at times, dreamlike. Restrained, melodic bass and light, restless drums give way to a sudden flash of clarity, demanding attention as the listener is asked to wonder what it means to look back, and what they will see when they do.
“When a band comes in like this, before you know, you feel and sense that intangible magic that something special is happening. It’s a transcendental kind of feeling, like being moved and transported by the band away somewhere warm and wonderful in your mind without physically leaving the room. It’s for those moments like that I built and work in this studio for,” says Mark Gardener.
“I was totally moved by this band and these songs and especially ’Shimmer’ which stood out for me as a single. There’s no rocket science or studio trickery here in any way it’s just the sound of a great band playing live together and it was a total pleasure to capture these recordings and moments”.
Last month, the quartet released the single ‘I’m Not Hidden’, described as having a “living, breathing sense of art and emotion’. This stripped back, open-tuned acoustic ballad is about returning to yourself after a long while. Now ‘Shimmer’ brings them one step closer to the EP release.
“We’ve been itching to release ‘Shimmer’ ever since we heard Mark’s final mix. It was one of those songs that was enjoyable to write – actually two pieces of music I was working on sort of bolted together that worked perfectly. In terms of lyrics, it’s a reflection of an attempted mugging that happened on a bridge in Reading, where my guitar was nearly stolen. The song is quite dreamlike with a sudden awakening a minute and a half in with the words ‘look back’, which were shouted across the bridge. So the song is as if remembering the events as you’re drifting off to sleep, but memory becomes confused with myth and the words conjure Orpheus and Eurydice, as comparisons with the story haunt the narrator. As the song is two pieces of music, the lyrics are two threads also, one happening above on a bridge and one, you could say, reflected in the river below,” says James Gable.
“We played the song for a few months before shaking up the whole arrangement. It felt like we spent session after session trying to nail down the right vibe for it. There was a lot of head scratching, but once we locked in recording dates, the deadline helped us be more objective. It’s also quite technically challenging for us, so we really feel a sense of achievement when we play it live and get it bang on!”
As of March 26, ‘Shimmer’ will be available from fine digital music platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp. The band’s debut EP will be released in late summer. The band will play Kendal Calling this year, appearing on Tim Burgess’ curated Tim Peaks stage.
CREDITS
James Gable – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar & piano
Tristan Gable – electric guitar
Gary Hanratty – bass & vocals
Leigh Baines – drums
Written by James Gable
Arranged by James Gable, Leigh Baines, Gary Hanratty & Tristan Gable
Engineered, mixed & mastered by Mark Gardener
Recorded at OX4 Studio, Oxfordshire, UK
Artists photos by Melissa Crane
FOR SHARING
‘Shimmer’ video https://youtu.be/rsRm9TVn5V0
Pre-save https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/twoheadedhorse/shimmer
Bandcamp https://twoheadedhorse.bandcamp.com
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/4mAC0QMj00GLQ6c8bu4sWR
Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/twoheadedhorseband/shimmer/s-6tVp1gwOlNw
‘I’m Not Hidden’ https://youtu.be/DKWBD_KkXkM
Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/twoheadedhorseband/im-not-hidden
“Seemingly simple songmanship, catchy melodicism, great momentum, soothing vocals and a beautiful blend of genres, Two Headed Horse offers a stunning work of musical art here. Indisputably, on ‘Shimmer’, they not only strike a positive chord – they also achieve perfect harmony” ~ The Spill Magazine
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