A carousel of organs, oscillating ethereal vocals, and languid breakbeats, this is ‘Fairground‘ the first sublime and transportive offering from deary released on Sonic Cathedral. A lullaby in technicolor they say it was “an attempt to replicate My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Soon’ but ended up somewhere in between Portishead, Felt Mountain-era Goldfrapp and early Saint Etienne.”
‘Fairground’ was produced by the band and deftly mastered by Slowdive’s Simon Scott. I can also hear the faint traces of the Cocteau Twins Treasure- era as singer Dottie’s sumptuous dream spins amidst the twinkling lights: at once soothing and disorientating, capturing the sensory overload and anxiety of London’s teeming cityscape, standing on the edge of being besotted, taking in the wonder of and wistfulness of it all. Glorious.
The video is similarly dream-like. The elliptical imagery is both a blur of the metropolis and captures moments up-close. Made by Chris Tomsett / Innerstrings, filmed it on a freezing cold afternoon just before Christmas it frames the song wonderfully, watch it below.
“As a kid, I found fairgrounds incredibly overwhelming, an entanglement of anxiety and perplexity,” Dottie explains. “This is how London feels to me now. The excitement of the lights and the noise can sometimes leave you pondering the meaning of it all.
“I am constantly astounded by the vibrancy, community and creativity that surrounds me every day. At the same time, the corruption in our society is inescapable. The letter now is a reminder to be cautious of going too fast and missing the important things.
Dottie came together with multi-instrumentalist bandmate Ben during lockdown in early 2021 and they bonded over a mutual love of the former Cocteau Twins singer, Elizabeth Fraser, among other things.
“We started off by sharing ideas and influences over WhatsApp,” explains Ben. “That led to us writing together and we eventually met up a few months later. We have been working ever since, building up a beautiful friendship in the process.”
deary play the following live shows:
February 2 – London, The Waiting Room
February 4 – Coventry, Just Dropped In
February 8 – Brighton, The Hope & Ruin