Brighton alt-poppers Orchards today share their new Acoustic EP, recorded in separate locations during lockdown. The EP showcases the band’s brilliant songwriting skills, and singer Lucy Evers’ flawless vocals, with a special twist on their well-loved songs. Alongside fan favourites such as ‘Age Of You’ and ‘Be Here’, the EP contains tracks from Orchards’ debut album Lovecore, released on March 13th, just as the UK went into lockdown.
Faced with being unable tour and promote the record as they’d hoped, the band sought to make the best of an unfortunate situation and kept themselves busy with livestream gigs, recording covers (including IDLES’ ‘Never Fight A Man With A Perm’, with profits going to NHS Charities Together and Hayley Williams’ ‘Over Yet’, which Hayley said “woke me up with a smile”), hosting livestream Q&As for their fan community The Juicebox and recording their Acoustic EP, shining a new light on tracks that are usually played with full gusto on stage, in true Orchards style.
About making their new EP, Orchards say: “It sucks we haven’t been able to tour our debut album yet, but everyone’s in the same boat so it pretty much sucks for everyone. We never intended to make an acoustic EP, we were recording some songs for a radio session with Huw Stephens and decided to just keep on recording.
It’s the first time we’ve ever really delved into recording ourselves so it was definitely a learning process for all of us, but we’ve ended up learning a bunch and have created something we’re all super proud of. As we were split across 2 flats, it was a lot of trial and error, but we had help from Jon Hucks who recorded LOVECORE and we had a laugh making it – not quite sure our neighbours would say the same though!
This EP is for sure a different vibe to our summery pop album but we hope you love the chilled energy as much as the crazy climbing over bars energy we normally bring on tour! We cannot wait to be out there eventually playing the album for you all, with the bells and whistles, but for now, here’s some summery cuteness.”
Acoustic EP Tracklisting
Age of You
Sincerely Overwhelmed
Be Here
Vacancy
Magical Thinking
History
After recording their new EP remotely, Orchards are looking forward to getting together to play live again on their Lovecore tour, with new dates confirmed for March and May 2021, and with more exciting plans for the rest of the year up their sleeves. Tickets for these new dates are on sale now from https://www.orchardslive.com/. Original tickets for the Lovecore tour are still valid for the 2021 shows.
Orchards 2021 tour dates
26th March – The Hope and Ruin, Brighton
18th May – Heartbreakers, Southampton
19th May – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
20th May – Exchange, Bristol
21st May – Dead Wax, Birmingham
22nd May – Record Junkee, Sheffield
23rd May – YES, Manchester
25th May – Stereo, Glasgow
26th May – The Bodega, Nottingham
27th May – OMEARA, London
Tickets on sale now from https://www.orchardslive.com/
Born from Brighton’s diverse musical breeding ground, indie quartet Orchards are among the city’s brightest rising stars. Comprised of lifelong friends Sam Rushton (guitar) and Dan Fane (bass/vocals), who met drummer Will Lee-Lewis and vocalist Lucy Evers within their first week at university, the band are a resplendent mix of summer melodies and stellar hooks that threaten to be stuck in your head for days. Combining left-field experimentation with startlingly prescient pop sensibilities, Orchards have been described as a “glittery gateway drug”, with a sound that is inherently positive, charming, shimmering and above all: fun. Orchards’ debut album Lovecore is out now via Big Scary Monsters.