British contemporary post-rock sextet Talons are streaming Southern Shade, the new single from upcoming third album We All Know, to be released via Holy Roar on July 27th 2018. Pre-orders are available here.
Across the nine songs on their new album Talons expertly weave multiple layers of instruments and beats, showcasing real compositional visceral power, exhibiting their skills in structure and dynamic control. The musical portraits the band paint take us through a variety of sonic landscapes rich in vivid imagery, from bleak to warm and everything in between.
The progressively ambitious sextet, who celebrate their tenth anniversary this year, excel with their third release, carving their own exciting niche in contemporary music. Led by a dual violin instrumentation, Talons variously touch on world / folk music, with more than occasional allusions to Indian classical music; modern classical; and heavy, expansive post-rock.
Recorded in August 2017 at Greenmount Studios in Leeds, inside an old church, with Lee Smith and Jamie Lockhart at the controls, We All Know was mastered by long-time collaborator Tom Woodhead (¡Forward Russia!). This is the second album Talons have recorded at Greenmount Studios following 2014’s New Topographics. The recording process was done live as a full band with very few overdubs in order to give the recordings a more intimate and direct feel.
Forming in 2008, Talons signed with Big Scary Monsters in 2009, releasing their debut single, The Pearl on 7” vinyl as well as a split single with And So I Watch You From Afar, featuring the song “Bethlehem”.
The band recorded their debut album, Hollow Realm, releasing in November 2010 (CD – Big Scary Monsters; 12″ vinyl – Topshelf Records; special extended CD – Xtal Records, Japan). It received critical acclaim, notably from BBC Music, Drowned In Sound, Rock Sound and The Line of Best Fit. Talons also recorded a Radio 1 Maida Vale session for Huw Stephens, and toured the record across the UK and mainland Europe.
Four years later, TALONS returned with their second album, New Topographics. A change in mood, more rhythmic and expansive, the album again received high praise in the press, including DIY magazine, Clash and Drowned in Sound. The album was also ranked #2 best album of 2014 by Already Heard website. In promoting the album TALONS made notable appearances at ArcTanGent, Truck Festival, Damnation Festival and Tramlines, as well as support slots with Pianos Become the Teeth and Amenra.
Catch them live:
21/7/2018 – Tramlines – City Hall Ballroom, Sheffield
16/8-18/8/2018 – Arctangent Festival
+ more to be announced.