The Little Unsaid are John Elliott (composer, songwriter & producer), Mariya Brachkova (synths, keys & backing vocals), Alison D’Souza (strings) & Tim Heymerdinger (drums, backing vocals).
South London based 4-piece The Little Unsaid have always evaded categorisation, blending an expansive multi-instrumented post-rock approach to song structures; with touches of jazz’s improvisation; an earthiness that hints at folk and roots influences: and a dramatic art-rock edge heightened by frontman John Elliott’s intense delivery (and with a hint of the dramatic that nods to John’s other works as a composer for stage, with his music featuring in Cruise currently touring the West End).
It’s a sound that comes to life in The Little Unsaid’s live performances, with the band having played countless UK/European tours and festival appearances, including a recent set at Glastonbury (2022), and explains why new album Fable (their third as a 4-piece) feels so instantly mesmerising and powerful. Born from a spontaneous visit to the beautiful Dorset Mill Farm Studio following the cancellation of a gig mid-tour, the entire record was carved out of hours of raw live improvisation. As John explains “Without pre-written material or musical ideas we set up in one room and recorded long improvisions until the sun went down, seizing on the energy and positivity we found through playing again (post-lockdown). We had one rule: Every idea had to come to us in the moment; melodies, rhythms, lyrics.”
Equally, Fable’s themes capture this moment in time, as John expands “The songs unavoidably reflect the chaos and simmering collective anxiety that was (and still is) everywhere around us while we recorded but held together by a defiant and palpable sense of gratitude and joy.”
There’s intensity in the first single Vibrant Life in its building spoken word stream of consciousness reminding us not to lose momentum, imagination, and curiosity in these dark times. Went Out Too Far, inspired by Hemmingway’s The Old Man And The Sea, is equally as tense with its hypnotic, tribal drumbeats, whilst Big Red offers up atmospheric, dirge blues as it lyrically describes a metaphorical mountain rising from the ground to eclipse everything.
The album’s title track Fable is an enveloping jazz infused fever dream exploring mythology and the push and pull between reality and dreamworlds, whilst Night Train offers a simmering emotional intensity recalling Shearwater.
TRACKLIST:
Far Gone
Went Out Too Far
Fable
Real To You At Least
How Will We Catch Them Out?
Wake Up Call
Big Red
One Step At A Time
Vibrant Life
Night Train
Sleep Tight
Following appearances at Glastonbury, Rhythmtree and Broadstairs Folk Week this year, The Little Unsaid embark on a UK-wide headline tour in October 2022.
Fable was written and recorded at Mill Farm Studio, Dorset then sent off for mixing by Graeme Stewart (Radiohead’s engineer and Jonny Greenwood’s film music producer). It is released o CD and digitally on 2 December via Carbon Moon Records.
LINKS:
The Little Unsaid Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
