Harkin has just announced her debut self-titled album is set for release April 24th via Hand Mirror, a new label set up by Harkin and her partner Kate Leah Hewett and is sharing new single “Nothing The Light Can’t Change” from the record. The track features Warpaint’s Stella Mozgawa and Wye Oak & Bon Iver‘s Jenn Wasner.
Speaking about the new single, Harkin said “‘Nothing the Night Can’t Change’ is a love song inspired by the North of England. Anyone that’s been on a night out in Leeds, or any of those places knows all the switches get flipped after dark. The romance and chaos of this song belongs to those nights. Jenn and Stella were both old tour friends of mine but had never met before our recording session together. By the end of day one they were finishing each other’s jokes and, miraculously, a bunch of the album’s foundational live tracks are first or second takes. The whole recording and mixing process only took 16 days total, but I ended up working in studios across three different time zones, so that spontaneity was essential to keeping the spark alive in the final song as it travelled with me. Jenn and Stella are as good as it gets and I’m hugely grateful.”
Listen to “Nothing The Night Can’t Change” below:
Harkin will be released on Hand Mirror, with publishing support from Rough Trade Publishing. Harkin and her partner, the poet and live arts organiser Kate Leah Hewett, founded Hand Mirror in 2019. The record is the first full length album to be released on Hand Mirror, and the organisation also will also have literary publications, compilations and live events in both the US and the UK in the pipeline.
The album was written on the road, in a cottage in the Peak District – the UK’s oldest national park – and in Upstate New York. The record was as nomadic as its creator, made over time in three different time zones – at Seahorse Sound in LA, Tesla Sheffield UK with Richard Formby (Wild Beasts, Darkstar) and with John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Waxahatchee, Kurt Vile) at Sonic Youth’s Echo Canyon West NJ USA. The record features contributions from Warpaint’s Stella Mozgawa and Wye Oak & Bon Iver’s Jenn Wasner and was completed over 16 days dotted between Harkin’s gruelling tour schedule.
Harkin artwork & tracklist:
1. Mist on Glass
2. Nothing The Night Can’t Change
3. Decade
4. Up To Speed
5. Bristling
6. Dial It In
7. Red Virginia Creeper
8. Sun Stay With Me
9. New France
10. Charm and Tedium
Harkin will tour across Europe over the next few months supporting both Sleater-Kinney & Torres. See all tour dates below:
Feb 18 – Berlin DE – Astra*
Feb 19 – Amsterdam NL – Paradiso Kleine Zaal*
Feb 21 – Brussels BE – Botanique*
Feb 22 – Frankfurt DE – Batschkapp*
Feb 24 – Paris FR – Trianon*
Feb 26 – London UK – Brixton Academy*
Feb 27 – Manchester UK – Manchester Academy*
Feb 28 – Glasgow UK – Barrowlands*
Mar 01 – Dublin IRE – Vicar Street*
Mar 03 Bristol UK – The Louisiana^
Mar 04 Manchester UK – YES^
Mar 05 London UK – Oslo^
Mar 09 Hamburg DE – Uebel & Gefährlich (Turmzimmer)^
Mar 10 Copenhagen DK – Loppen^
Mar 11 Berlin DE – Kantine am Berghain^
Mar 12 Heidelberg DE – Karlstorbahnhof^
Mar 13 Zürich CH – Rote Fabrik^
Mar 14 Torino IT – Circolo della Musica^
Mar 16 Paris FR – Le Pop Up du Label^
* – supporting Sleater-Kinney
^ – supporting Torres