Not many artists begin their career with ‘Deathbed Confessions’, but then HANNAH ROSE PLATT isn’t your typical artist…
Readying a record guaranteed to give you goosebumps, Xtra Mile Recordings are thrilled to present the label debut from their latest signing. A singer-songwriter with a penchant for the peculiar and a multi-instrumentalist who relishes a murder-ballad, Hannah Rose Platt will release her upcoming album ‘Deathbed Confessions’ on 19th May 2023.
Offering a first peek into this collection of curiosities, Platt is delighted to unveil: “Dead Man On The G Train”, from the record – out now.
STREAM “DEAD MAN ON THE G TRAIN” ON ALL SERVICES HERE || WATCH VIDEO HERE
Loaded with the kind of cordite cool that PJ Harvey or Nadine Shah carry at their most gothic and gripping, the breathless first single from Hannah Rose Platt will send shivers down your spine and back up again. Produced by Ed Harcourt, “Dead Man On The G Train” arrives like an Agatha Christie chiller served with an alternative/rock chaser, and aptly sets expectations for the concept album she’s planning this Spring. As Hannah explains:
“Dead Man on the G Train’ was the first song I wrote for the record and the opening title. I wanted to write a little four-minute ‘pulp noir’ mystery thriller, which sets the tone for the rest of the record. Ed and I had so much fun recording this track, expect to hear bombastic drums and beastly guitar train sounds. We hope to transport you to 1930s New York, someone’s boarding the G train to Brooklyn and they won’t be getting off… (listen out for the twist!)”
The track arrives hand-in-hand with an animated film-noir style video which storyboards this grisly tale of vengeance with bespoke detail. Directed and animated by Marc Corrigan, it can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnbeOT-KV-M
Finding an instant fan and friend in Ed Harcourt, the influence of the singular singer-songwriter and producer can be heard coursing through Platt’s upcoming album ‘Deathbed Confessions’. Producing the entire record, Harcourt also performs a myriad of instruments throughout (Pianos, Drums, Baritone Guitars, Optigan, Backing Vocals, Synths, Percussion), as well as appearing for a co-write on ‘Hedy Lamarr’ and co-vocal on the maritime murder ballad “The Mermaid & The Sailor”; a sinister, siren-song of a duet to give Nick Cave & Kylie a run for their money.
In praise of Hannah Rose Platt and his passion for working on this project, Harcourt says:
“Hannah is a consummate storyteller and as soon as I heard her songs I was happily bewitched… I think we’re both very similar in the fact that we are obsessive film aficionados & therefore think in a more visual way in our approach to the music and the sounds. What I love about working with Hannah is that she is very free and totally open to my delusional bouts of grandeur and hopefully you, the listener, will hear the love and the pathos and the dark humour that we have managed to commit to tape in equal measure. Congratulations Hannah and I can’t wait for the world to hear this dazzling humdinger.”
Deriving inspiration from the dark, the depraved, and the eternally damned, ‘Deathbed Confessions’ offers twelve poetic ghost stories that could enchant you into an early grave. A concept album inspired by classic horror, from Rod Serling’s ‘The Twilight Zone’, to the BBC’s ‘Inside No 9’, and the balladeer categories of Samuel Peyps’; Platt distils them all into alternative/folk ditties soused in the supernatural, post/rock vignettes of revenges served cold, and poisonous piano ballads potent enough to make the blood curdle.
Speaking about her vision for ‘Deathbed Confessions’, Hannah Rose Platt says:
“I’ve always been fascinated by the variety of emotions ghost stories and horror can evoke. I wanted to create a sonic anthology series of haunting vignettes, and wrote a collection of songs exploring polarised themes of death, love, the afterlife, murder, regret, the uncanny, the kindness of strangers, and the downright bizarre! The characters in the songs are linked as they travel by train to the afterlife, each revisiting key moments, decisions and regrets that subsequently shaped their lives. I hope the listener feels a desire to curl up and be transported back to ‘story-time’!”
Peppered with perverse pop cultural references and laced with lashings of black humour, each song on ‘Deathbed Confessions’ has an identity of its own, filled with shadowy figures, spooky destinations, and surreal narratives. From the moment you get aboard the precarious shock’n’roll of the “G Train” (opening title), the listener is transported through painterly scenes with paranormal twists and turns a plenty. The poignant “Kissing Room” sees ghostly lovers reuniting in Grand Central Station, the grizzly comedy-noir “The Wendigo Rag” sees a ‘road trip gone wrong’ testing the boundaries of friendship in a fight for survival, and the sublime “The Mermaid & The Sailor” (ft. Ed Harcourt) heads to the open sea to observe a doomed relationship setting sail. Encountering colourful characters aplenty along the way, an introduction to “Hedy Lamarr” sees the Austrian superstar of classic cinema confessing to a troubled private life, while the unsettling “Home For Wayward Dolls” offers a fly-on-the-wall view of young women being led astray through the eyes of a toy. The apparition of several ghosts, some benevolent (“The Gentleman”), others less so (“Feeding Time For Monsters”), will ensure you will need to keep your wits about you at all times too.
Counterbalancing songs of a macabre subject matter with melodies that are often light, listenable, and filmic in their execution, Platt’s vision truly comes into focus in its soundtrack-like musical accompaniment. Recorded at Ed Harcourt’s Wolf Cabin Studios in just five “heady & magnificently chaotic days”, Platt’s versatile vocals and guitar playing are a familiar thread throughout, however, ‘Deathbed Confessions’ also boasts a wide dynamic curve through an array of guest players who all contribute to its unique signature. On the luscious “Inventing the Stars”, the Budapest Film Orchestra provide a swelling accompaniment reminiscent of ‘30s cinema. Charlie Draper adds baroque/pop textures with his Ondes-Martenist playing to “Home for Wayward Dolls”, whereas Freddie Draper lends his electric and double bass talents to songs like “The Gentleman” and “Wendigo Rag” respectively. Elsewhere, Lester Brown lends a sense of loneliness to “For The Living, For the Lost” with his trumpet playing, whilst Gita Langley and Alex Palmer also add sumptuous strings at regular intervals. Mixed by the highly rated Dave Izumi Lynch, the record was given its glossy finish with mastering by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios.
A suite of recordings sure to intrigue, disturb, and haunt you for some time after the needle has left the groove, ‘Deathbed Confessions’, Hannah Rose Platt’s magnificent Xtra Mile debut arrives on 19 May 2023.
