LUMP is a collaborative album from Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay, the founding member of Tunng and Throws. The album, which was recorded in Lindsay’s subterranean London studio, will be released on 1st June 2018 via Dead Oceans.
LUMP was born of good timing and predestined compatibility. It began one night in mid-June 2016, when Lindsay was introduced to Marling after her show supporting Neil Young in London. On meeting, Lindsay and Marling discovered they had long been admirers of each other’s work.
Today the duo have shared the album’s launch off, “Curse Of The Contemporary”. A steady, pulsing bassline divines a road snaking off towards the horizon, which gives a sense of gazing out of a car window as mountains and palm trees rush by. Marling begins: “If you should be bored in California / I’m sure I’m not the first to warn you,” and as the song progresses, her words drip with ever more cynicism for the new age: “We salute the sun / Because when the day is done / We can’t believe what we’ve become / Something else to prey upon.”
The accompanying video was created by the motion graphics designer Esteban Diacono. Esteban said the following about the video: “For me it was very important that this video was respectful of the spirit of Laura and Mike’s collaboration. I wanted to create a video that was joyful and interesting while at the same time retaining an innocent and tender overall vibe. I also wanted to touch on some of the topics that were important to Laura’s lyrics, but under a different look. Visually, I took inspiration from the idea of California as a Dream Factory, from the idea of big movie sets that could transform themselves, give shape and colour to dreams and spark the imagination. The video is fully animated, and LUMP was brought to life using motion capture technology.”
Watch and listen to “Curse Of The Contemporary” below:
LUMP artwork & tracklist:
1. Late To The Flight
2. May I Be The Light
3. Rolling Thunder
4. Curse Of The Contemporary
5. Hand Hold Hero
6. Shake Your Shelter
7. LUMP is a Product (credits)
Marling and Lindsay will be touring LUMP this summer, with appearances confirmed at Rough Trade East in London, Hebden Bridge, Manchester, Festival Of Voice and Latitude as well as two intimate shows in one night at Oslo in Hackney on June 5th. Live dates are as follows:
June 1 – London, Rough Trade East instore
June 2 – Hebden Bridge, The Trades Club
June 3 – Manchester, Band In The Wall
June 5 – London, Oslo
June 5 – London, Oslo (second show)
June 8 – Cardiff, Festival Of Voice
June 9 – Bristol, Rough Trade instore
July 13 – Latitude Festival, Henham Park