Following the release of GUISE’s debut album Youngest Daughter earlier this year, the folk fourtet are confirming its long-awaited release on vinyl this Friday (9 September).
Commemorating the release, the band are delighted to present a new tour video for Youngest Daughter’s magnificent opening track: ‘The Boy & The Thief’.
A song that according to lead vocalist Jessica Guise “appeared like a snowball to the face”, so too does it burst from the blue with a supercharged sense of adventure.
With its lyrics delivered at a breathless pace, ‘The Boy & The Thief’ envelops the listener in a tale of love and luck that will resonate with anyone who has ever been waiting for their numbers to finally come up in the lottery that is life. As Jessica explains:
“Sometimes writing a song is like carving a sculpture or fishing by the side of a very still lake, but sometimes it’s just like being given a present that you have to unwrap really really quickly before it disappears. This was the latter; it started forming in my head on a long walk home one day and I had to run home to get it written before I forgot it. It’s about a friend of mine who was having no luck in love, and how we both consistently made terrible choices… The video is a tongue in cheek tour video aiming to capture the spirit of friendship, adventure and honesty that’s behind the band.”
From its spartan acoustic beginnings, to the galloping celtic thrum that soon overtakes; ‘The Boy & The Thief’ balances frenetic guitars with the finest of fiddle playing and makes for an exhilarating introduction to GUISE’s accomplished debut album.
Released by Xtra Mile Recordings label, Youngest Daughter is available to stream in full here or in white vinyl edition from 9th September, order a copy here.
Written by Jessica Guise and performed by GUISE (Jess Guise (vox and guitar), Laura Hanna, (co-vocalist), Titas Halder (bassist), Keith Barry (drums)); the album features 13 songs of a touching honesty paired to sparkling country/folk arrangements.
Featuring the pop perfection of previous singles ‘Don’t Come Back’ and the Emily Barker-backed tenderness of ‘I Know When You Leave’, GUISE’s latest work has been praised as “simply beautiful” (M Magazine/PRS for Music) to “gorgeous, spine-tingling” (Backseat Mafia), with FATEA Magazine also praising Youngest Daughter as “an album of sublime beauty”.
An autobiographical, story-so-far record filled with honest, personal, and self-deprecating songs told with warmth and humour, Youngest Daughter has been described by Jess as a "wander through the various ways I’ve tried to follow my heart over the years”. From songs about fumbling your way through relationships (“The Boy & The Thief”, “The Right Track”) to incredibly moving tracks about the sudden passing of Jess’ father Stuart, who taught her to play (“The Crying Kind”, “Brother In Arms”), it’s an album that puts its heart on its sleeve and will move listeners on every emotional level. Taking inspiration from the likes of Dar Williams and Stevie Nicks, the record is finished with a contemporary folk sound featuring lush arrangements of fiddles, flutes, layered harmonies and more, courtesy of her four-piece band and guests. Seven years in the writing, Youngest Daughter was recorded, mixed and mastered in Jess’s garden studio with producer, husband, and occasional collaborator Frank Turner.
Filled with tunes poured from the heart and moulded by the soul, Youngest Daughter is a beautiful accumulation of GUISE’s work so far and the summation of Jess’ own personal journey to date. Continuing the adventure on the road this month, European fans will have the opportunity to catch the band performing the new material live at a string of German shows (with Frank Turner and New Pagans) this month, plus a one-off UK set at the Manchester Folk Expo in October. Dates as follows;
YOUNGEST DAUGHTER TOUR DATES 2022
Germany
11/09/22 Hamburg *
12/09/22 Cologne *
13/09/22 Wiesbaden *
15/09/22 Berlin (Lost Evenings V Festival) *
UK
13/10/22 Manchester Folk Expo
*w/ Frank Turner and New Pagans
FOR MORE INFORMATION
