Penelope Isles Head Out On Summer Tour

Posted on May 30, 2022 by danielle

Penelope Isles are once again heading out on the road to celebrate the early 2022 release of their album Which Way To Happy. The tour will include stops at a number of summer festivals including Primavera, Glastonbury, Ypsigrock and Green Man Festival. To mark the tours kick off this week, the band have shared an alternative version of their track “Play It Cool” as well as the below statement…

“We have been working on how to re-imagine songs from Which Way To Happy for our festival shows this summer…. Play It Cool seemed to fall into place a lot easier than others… maybe because we stripped a lot of things away that are in the album version, so we felt that it would be ‘cool’ to re-mix and create an alternative version, where the arrangement and sonics are more like how we are doing it live. Everything is pretty hard panned in the stereo mix, so the drums are on one side and the bass on the other. It’s kind of fun to pan to one side and isolate things. Inspired by those early Byrds and Beatles mixes.

The video is a little nod to when you feel like you’re in a film, riding your bike or walking with music in your ears. Your main character moment.

As we head to Italy today for some gigs on our way to Primavera next week, we are thrilled to show you this new mix of Play It Cool and a lovely wee video to accompany! We are also playing all these shows below before the end of the year and cannot wait to say hi to you all somewhere along the way. Love Penny Isles xx”

Full upcoming live dates below…

2^nd June – Salerno, IT – Disorder Festival

7^th June – Barcelona, SP – Primavera Sound Festival

11^th June – Bellocq, FR – Very Good Trip Festival

17^th June – Edinburgh, UK – Hidden Door Festival

22^nd June – Pilton, UK – Glastonbury Festival

15^th July – Leeuwarden, NL – Welcome To The Village

24^th July – Isle Of Man, UK – Dark Horse Festival

29^th July – Bruton, UK – Farmfest

5^th August – Sicily, IT – Ypsigrock Festival

18^th August – Brecon, UK – Green Man Festival

1^st September – Nottingham, UK – Bodega

2^nd September – Birkenhead, UK – Future Yard

3^rd September – Manchester, UK – Manchester Psych Fest

6^th September – Tunbridge Wells, UK – Forum

7^th September – Cardiff, UK – Clwb Ifor Bach

8^th September – Portsmouth, UK – The Kings

9^th September – London, UK – Oslo Hackney

10^th September – Reading, UK – Down At The Abbey

14^th September – Bath, UK – Moles

15^th September – Falmouth, UK – The Cornish Bank

16^th September – Exeter, UK – Cavern

Joe Goddard Remixes “Iced Gems” By Penelope Isles

Posted on March 31, 2022 by danielle

Following their electrifying performances at this year’s SXSW, and about to embark on a truly epic UK and European tour which runs from next week right through to September, Penelope Isles today share an infectious, blissed-out Joe Goddard remix of their much-loved track “Ice Gems”.

Penelope Isles’ upcoming lives dates include headline shows, festival appearances as well as a number of UK dates performing as special guests for the mighty Sea Power. Dates/info here: https://www.penelopeisles.com/live

Acclaim for recent album Which Way To Happy…

“Jack and Lily Wolter balance the bitter and the sweet with real delicacy on the follow-up to their 2019 debut… An endearing mixture of emotional wobble and creative confidence, Which Way To Happy is on exactly the right track.” MOJO – 4 stars ****

“Widescreen, expansive stuff… ‘Rocking At The Bottom’ mixes jangle and shoegaze with a dose of the Bunnymen at their most grandiose, while ‘Play It Cool’ is irresistible retro-pop. The stately psych stroll of ‘Sailing Still’ and woozy glide of ‘Pink Lemonade’ are both dreamy high points.” Shindig – 4 stars ****

“Festooned with macroscopic, reverb-smitten production and sumptuous orchestral arrangements… A genuinely healing listen; an album to get cosy with while its music lovingly soaks your wounds.” DIY – 4 stars ****

“Which Way to Happy expands and improves on the musical palette laid down by their debut with the record hitting its stride on the jittery single ‘Iced Gems’ followed by the absorbing and ambitious ballad ‘Sailing Still’. Songs come bathed in sparkling synths and warming strings, but melodies are unpredictable, bearing repeat listens.” Uncut – 7/10

“Their sound hasn’t changed but the recordings are richer, basslines heavier, and the songwriting is more confident.” Clash – 8/10

“This sibling duo’s forthcoming album Which Way to Happy builds further upon their explorations of sound, unbound to the constraints of style. The result is a cohesive grab bag of influences ranging from The Smiths to Tame Impala.” Paste

Bella Union announce 2022 SXSW Showcase

Posted on March 10, 2022 by danielle

Bella Union announce SXSW showcase to kick off its 25th Anniversary celebrations!

2022 is a big year for Bella Union records as the label celebrates its 25th Anniversary. We have a number of special events being lined up taking place throughout the year, more news of which will be announced soon, but to kick off the celebrations the label is heading to Austin, Texas for a showcase at this year’s SXSW festival. Thursday 17th March will see Bella Union play host to a superb line-up of acts at Mohawk on Red River Street, with performances both inside and outside the venue. Acts performing include the likes of Midlake, Ezra Furman, White Denim, Penelope Isles, Pom Poko, Ural Thomas & The Pain, Tallies and many more. The flyer below has the full info and stage times…

Commenting on Bella Union’s 25th anniversary label founder Simon Raymonde says: “I could never in my wildest dreams have imagined that we would be working with artists like John Grant and Dirty Three for over 22 years, with Midlake since 2004, Beach House and Father John Misty for all of their albums, The Flaming Lips for 10 years, Fleet Foxes for their globally acclaimed and double-platinum selling debut and the follow up Helplessness Blues, watching Ezra Furman become one of the most important writers of her generation, and having a perfect gender split of 50-50 across the roster. This just happened, without a plan, or strategy. It is a miracle we made it, but gives us such strength to keep pushing the boundaries and the envelope and to show bravery and never be afraid to take a risk. Our pride is also in continuing to develop the new bands we discover before their debuts, for them to develop into the household names of the future. They are too numerous to mention but they know how much we value them.”

“Having been going to Austin for SXSW pretty much every year since we started back in 1997 it feels appropriate to be hosting our biggest and most significant label showcase in this our 25th year. With 83 year old Ural Thomas kicking off the celebrations with his incredible live band The Pain in tow, we have Brighton-based Penelope Isles playing their first USA show in support of their new LP since just before the pandemic hit, Pom Poko playing their first-EVER show in the USA, Midlake returning on the eve of the release of their new album, Austin-legends White Denim bringing the evening close to a crescendo before our headliner Ezra Furman will close out this special night with a set that will have you walking home to bed at 2am with your senses fully activated! She is a star and by the end of the night you will know it.”

Penelope Isles Share “Have You Heard?” Visuals

Posted on December 12, 2021December 13, 2021 by danielle

Following excellent reviews for their new album Which Way To Happy, released digitally last month via Bella Union and out physically on 21st January, Penelope Isles today share a brilliant video for LP highlight “Have You Heard” to coincide with their announcement of a month of US tour dates running throughout March 2022. “Have You Heard” receives a gripping narrative-meets-live-performance video shot in black and white, helmed by renowned director Jamie Thraves (Radiohead’s “Just” and Coldplay’s “The Scientist”).

Commenting on the video Jamie Thraves says: “I heard Penelope Isles on 6 Music and was blown away. They seemed to channel all my favourite bands in one. I’ve been into this idea of reaching out to new bands via Instagram to see if they’d be into my music video work and Jack and Lily were open from the get go. They gave me an absolute gem of a track in ‘Have You Heard’ and they were totally open to what I wanted to do visually. This video is a nod and reference to a number of videos and short films I’ve made in the past, themes I’m interested in, and they gave me total freedom to do what I wanted. They are total stars and very down to earth and lovely people. They were so much fun to work with and we had a blast.”

Additionally, Penelope Isles have been added to the line-up of Bella Union’s Winter Wonderland concert at the Union Chapel this Saturday alongside Laura Groves, C Duncan and Deep Throat Choir. Tickets HERE.

Acclaim for Which Way To Happy:

“Jack and Lily Wolter balance the bitter and the sweet with real delicacy on the follow-up to their 2019 debut… An endearing mixture of emotional wobble and creative confidence,

Which Way To Happy is on exactly the right track.” MOJO

“Widescreen, expansive stuff… ‘Rocking At The Bottom’ mixes jangle and shoegaze with a dose of the Bunnymen at their most grandiose, while ‘Play It Cool’ is irresistible retro-pop.

The stately psych stroll of ‘Sailing Still’ and woozy glide of ‘Pink Lemonade’ are both dreamy high points.” Shindig – 4 stars ****

“Festooned with macroscopic, reverb-smitten production and sumptuous orchestral arrangements… A genuinely healing listen;

an album to get cosy with while its music lovingly soaks your wounds.” DIY – 4 stars ****

“Which Way to Happy expands and improves on the musical palette laid down by their debut with the record hitting its stride on the jittery single ‘Iced Gems’ followed by the absorbing

and ambitious ballad ‘Sailing Still’. Songs come bathed in sparkling synths and warming strings, but melodies are unpredictable, bearing repeat listens.” Uncut – 7/10

“Their sound hasn’t changed but the recordings are richer, basslines heavier, and the songwriting is more confident.” Clash – 8/10

“This sibling duo’s forthcoming album Which Way to Happy builds further upon their explorations of sound, unbound to the constraints of style.

The result is a cohesive grab bag of influences ranging from The Smiths to Tame Impala.” Paste

Happy Release Day Penelope Isles

Posted on November 5, 2021November 5, 2021 by danielle

To celebrate the release of their new album Which Way To Happy, out today via Bella Union with the physical release following on 21st January,Penelope Isles have shared a video to current single and album highlight “Terrified”. The track is a reflection on anxiety set to a dreamy sunburst of psychedelic jangle-pop while the colourful video features frontman Jack Wolter getting the full clown makeover. Of the video Jack says: “We wanted to capture some kind of juxtaposition within the video for “Terrified”. The manic, hurried face-painting getting slapped on but with me singing almost bored and spun-out in real-time. A funny, supposed-to-be-joyful clown framed in a wonky black and white frame. The instrumentation of the song is very much the polar opposite to what I’m singing about and so we tried to continue this theme in the video. We also wanted something visually a little less busy and intense than the other videos we have shared from the album.

“Festooned with macroscopic, reverb-smitten production and sumptuous orchestral arrangements, Which Way To Happy balances the raw confessionalism of its lyrics with the lavish ethereality of sound… A genuinely healing listen; an album to get cosy with while its music lovingly soaks your wounds.” DIY – 4 stars ****

“Widescreen, expansive stuff, given added scale by Dave Fridmann’s mix. ‘Rocking At The Bottom’ mixes jangle and shoegaze with a dose of the Bunnymen at their most grandiose, while ‘Play It Cool’ is irresistible retro-pop. The stately psych stroll of ‘Sailing Still’ and woozy glide of ‘Pink Lemonade’ are both dreamy high points.” Shindig – 4 stars ****

“Cause for joy as winter looms… Which Way To Happy is sprawling and multi-coloured and really, really big, though ultimately hugely friendly – maybe like the creatures from Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are seen through an acid prism.” Backseat Mafia – 8.5/10

Penelope Isles share “Terrified”

Posted on October 26, 2021 by danielle

With the release of their new album Which Way To Happy less than two weeks away on 5th November, and the physical release date following on 21st January, Penelope Isles today share new single and album highlight “Terrified”. The track is a reflection on anxiety set to a dreamy sunburst of psychedelic jangle-pop. As frontman Jack Wolter explains: “It’s about those days when you’re dying inside but have to pop out to the shop, bumping into someone, having to put on a magic show, pretending to appear that everything is OK. It’s a song that has such a happy-fun-summery exterior but lyrically is totally the opposite. It’s one of self-doubt, displacement and finding something really terrifying to handle. Sometimes we hide a lot behind ourselves. ‘Terrified’ was an outlet for me to be able to tackle scary thoughts and worries in more of an abstract way. Things can seem impossible to talk about and articulate sometimes. I feel that making this album has enabled me and my sister Lily to open up a lot more and be honest with our songs as it just makes them so much more real.”

Due to unforeseen circumstances Penelope Isles have been forced to move some of their Autumn tour dates to early 2022. The band have also announced a raft of new shows for the tour which covers pretty much the entirety of the UK as well as taking a detour into Ireland. Tickets / info HERE.