Catalonian singer-songwriter Joana Serrat has today released her new album ‘Hardcore From The Heart’ on Loose Music.

Also released is the latest single from the album, ‘Hotel Room 609’, which follows previous singles 'You're With Me Everywhere I Go' – which recently received a spin on Guy Garvey’s 6Music show - ‘Demons’ and 'Pictures'. 

Of the new single, Joana comments: "I remember I wrote that song on the van I was traveling with The Delines while we were headed to Cambridge. I was opening for them on their UK tour and their first gig really impressed me, and I think caused a big influence on me as I found myself writing these lines about memories in a hotel room. I was absorbed gazing at the landscape through the window glass, at the same time I was feeling that I had lost the chance to make a dream come true and my life was falling apart. Once I got at my hotel room, I recorded the song with my phone before going to the show. The very next morning, on our way to the next town I asked Amy Boone if she'd like to listen to a song. She did, and she shed a tear after hearing it. I took it as a very generous compliment. I also shared my lyrics to Willy Vlautin and he said ‘Hotel Rooms? I love these kind of lyrics’. It was really flattering."

Serrat’s fifth album, ‘Hardcore From The Heart’ is the follow-up to 2017’s acclaimed ‘Dripping Springs’ (“…like Mazzy Star guesting on an early Neil Young demo,” Mojo). For the recording, Serrat travelled from her home in Vic, a small city near Barcelona, to Joey McClellan of Midlake’s Redwood Studio in Denton, Texas. There she teamed up with engineer and producer Ted Young (Kurt Vile, Sonic Youth, Lee Ranaldo). 

‘Hardcore From The Heart’ receives a 9/10 rating in the latest Uncut magazine, who write “…her songs stir like emotional weather fronts, squalls and torrents of familiar heartache made startling and luminous on an album full or haunted reflection and soul-searching reverie.” 

‘Hardcore From The Heart’ starts with loss and ends with acceptance of the impossibility of achieving an ideal life, examining the imbalance that exists between the life lived and the ideal sought. Its title is borrowed from the book by sexologist and essayist Annie Sprinkles to reflect the nuanced, emotional and introspective journey that Serrat pursues in her lyrics and music. 

Lead single ‘Pictures’ illustrates the album’s rich textures and immersive atmospherics. “Pictures talks about disillusion and the failure of communication,” comments Serrat. “It's also a reminder of the amount of time we stupidly waste on trivial details. That idea of 'perfection never comes' is that you are better off just living your life because things can always go wrong. Tables turn in the blink of an eye. So putting off things while waiting for the right time to do them kills me.  

“The song takes place in Montréal and it's about a broken promise. It was inspired by the fact I didn't let myself be angry with that disappointment. I built a wall and let my frustration and sadness grow in this space but never expressed it. That took a toll on me and by the time I realised it, it was too late.” 

Joana Serrat has performed on the biggest festival stages across Europe and the USA, including Black Deer Festival, Celtic Connections and The Long Road in the UK, SXSW and Americana Fest in the USA, and Benicassim and Primavera Sound at home in Spain. She’s supported artists including The Jayhawks, Neko Case, Courtney Marie Andrews, The Handsome Family, and Israel Nash, while performing headline shows across the globe, including the UK. 

On ‘Hardcore From The Heart, Joana is joined by some of the musicians she worked with on ‘Dripping Springs’ – including guitarist Joey McClellan (Midlake, BNQT, John Grant) and bassist Aaron McClellan (Josh T. Pearson, BNQT) - who are joined by drummer McKenzie Smith (St. Vincent, Sharon Van Etten, First Aid Kit) and keyboardplayer Jesse Chandler (Mercury Rev). 

The work is rounded off by contributions of both pedal steel guitarist Eric Swanson (Nathaniel Rateliff, Israel Nash) and her brother Toni Serrat on drums. The magical varnish of mastering this flammable and fragile material is down to sound engineer Heba Kadry (Slowdive, Beach House, Future Islands). 

The end result is a painfully honest and moving album, which grows on you with each hearing as new and rich complexities are discovered. ‘Hardcore From The Heart’ showcases Serrat's best vocal performance to date and marks a literary peak in her songwriting career. 

Track List:

01 Easy

02 Pictures 

03 These Roads

04 You’re With Me Everywhere I Go

05 Summer Never Ends

06 How To Make You Love Me

07 Demons

08 Take Me Back To Where I Belong

09 Hotel Room 609

10 Wild Beast

Listen here

Further Praise for Joana Serrat:

"Like Mazzy Star guesting on an early Neil Young demo” - MOJO

“..the spectre of Joanna Newsom hangs heavy on her breathy vocal – evokes the sweeping 

alt-country of Lambchop. Gorgeous.” - NME

“An amazing artist, I’m a huge fan – an astonishing voice and I love her songwriting” - LAUREN LAVERNE, BBC 6 MUSIC

“Her soft and genuine voice opens you up to a new world, a world of dreams and smooth and silken atmospheres” - ROLLING STONE

“I swooned on first listen and I’m swooning still… She sounds like an alliance of Mazzy Star and Slowdive – 

now imagine that, and it gets better.” - Americana UK

FOR MORE INFORMATION

www.facebook.com/JoanaSerrat /
www.twitter.com/joanaserrat /
https://www.instagram.com/joanaserrat/