“This album is potent yet delicate, waterbaby’s voice serene, almost angelic.” - [COVER STORY] NME
On Friday, March 6th,
waterbaby will release her debut full-length,
Memory Be a Blade, on CD/LP/DSPs worldwide from Sub Pop. The 8-track long player features the songs
“Amiss”,
“Beck n Call”, and the album’s title track, which
The New York Times says, “With its gentle percussion, trembling strings and sweet, cooed harmonies, the song has the intimate, handmade quality of a scrapbook.”
Today, you can hear
Memory Be a Blade’s newest offering, the blissful electro-acoustic track, “Clay (feat. ttoh)”, and by watching its
official video, directed by waterbaby and Levi Axene.
waterbaby has confirmed new UK & EU headline dates for 2026 in support of
Memory Be a Blade. These shows will begin on March 19th in Gothenburg, Sweden, along with dates in Stockholm, London, Paris, and Berlin. Additional live shows to be announced soon. See below for a current list of shows.
Thu. Mar. 19 Gothenburg, SE - Nefertiti
Fri. Mar. 20 Lund, SE - Mejeriet
Sat. Mar. 21 Linköping, SE - Babettes
Sun. Apr. 12 Stockholm, SE - Södra Teatern
Wed. Apr. 15 London, UK - The Lower Third
Thu. Apr. 16 Paris, FR - Popup!
Fri. Apr. 17 Rotterdam, NL - MOMO
Sun. Apr. 19 Berlin, DE - Frannz
On waterbaby’s
Memory Be a Blade, the Stockholm, Sweden-born singer-songwriter’s first album for Sub Pop, the nostalgia runs deep. Her follow-up to the acclaimed 2023 EP
Foam,
Memory… is darker, richer, and more personal than ever. She wanted her lyrics to dig deeper and evolve her writing forward, something she accomplishes stunningly across the eight-track project.
To spark inspiration for her new lyrics, waterbaby reflected on a past break-up. She had moved on and was seeing someone new while recording the album. But when the newer relationship ended, she witnessed how much the album took on a new meaning to reflect the heartbreak she hadn’t anticipated experiencing.
“Many of the songs came to mean very different things than what I had thought when writing them in the first place,” waterbaby admits.
In the two years following
Foam, waterbaby and her primary collaborator,
Marcus White, took their time to get the album right. They wrote and recorded around Stockholm, the south of Sweden, and even Los Angeles. As it took shape, however, waterbaby began to notice how much she would stiffen up behind the microphone. She admits she gets quite shy in the studio, opting for the familiarity of people like White to stay by her side. But in order to take her words and sound deeper, White encouraged her to improvise what she sang instead of writing it out ahead of time.
Her improvisations were paired with compositions that reflected waterbaby’s classical background. White played piano alongside his lush and ethereal arrangements of string and horn parts. Musicians like violinist Oliva Lundberg, cellists Filip Lundberg and Kristina Winiarski, saxophonist Sebastian Mattebo, trombonist Hannes Falk Junestav, and flutist Pelle Westlin round out the dreamy ensemble (read more at
Sub Pop).
What people are saying about waterbaby:
“An unguarded DIY R&B moment coming out of the Swedish capital.” - The FADER
“A real jewel, a thrilling and evocative slice of future-facing pop” - CLASH
“worth a few hundred plays.” - Loud and Quiet
“the Swedish artist’s knack for instant classics is no accident” - DIY
“waterbaby’s writing feels both fragile and fearless, cementing her status as one of alt-pop’s most quietly devastating new voices.” - Wonderland
“beautiful” - Notion
waterbaby
Memory Be a Blade
Track Listing:
1. Sink
2. Memory Be a Blade
3. Clay
4. Beck n Call
5. Minnie
6. Minnie Too
7. Amiss
8. Srs Ice |
|
Iron & Wine today shares a new single and official video for “Roses,” the latest offering from their forthcoming album Hen’s Teeth, out worldwide Friday, February 27th, from Sub Pop.
Directed and animated by noted animation artist Gaia Alari, this fully hand-drawn animation follows the song as two characters chase each other through a dark river, a forest, and a garden in the sky. Click here to watch.
Iron & Wine will begin a WORLD tour later this month in Australia & New Zealand, with headline dates in North America, running from April to May, and newly announced dates in October. See below for a complete list of shows. Tickets can be purchased here.
Australia & New Zealand
Sat. Feb. 28 - Perth, AU - The Rechabite *
Mon. Mar. 02 - Brisbane, AU - The Princess Theatre *
Wed. Mar. 04 - Sydney, AU - City Recital Hall *
Fri. Mar. 06 - Adelaide, AU - WOMADelaide *
Sat. Mar. 07 - Port Fairy, AU - Port Fairy Folk Festival
Sun. Mar 08 - Port Fairy, AU - Port Fairy Folk Festival
Tue. Mar. 10 - Melbourne, AU - Northcote Theatre *
Thu. Mar. 12 - Hobart, AU - Odeon Theatre *
Sat. Mar. 14 - Auckland, NZ - Powerstation *
Sun. Mar - 15, Wellington, NZ - Meow Nui *
North America
Tue. Mar. 17 - Honolulu, HI - The Hawaii Theatre ^
Wed. Mar. 18 - Kahului, HI - Maui Arts & Cultural Center Castle Theater ^
Mon. Apr. 27th - St Louis, MO - The Pageant @
Tue. Apr. 28th - Columbia, MO - The Blue Note @
Wed. Apr. 29th - Omaha, NE - Astro Theater @
Fri. May 01 - Saint Paul, MN - Fitzgerald Theater @
Sat. May 02 - Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall Ballroom @
Sun. May 03 - Iowa City, IA - The Englert Theatre @
Tue. May 05 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall @
Wed. May 06 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall @
Fri. May 08 - Ann Arbor, MI - Michigan Theater @
Sat. May 09 - Niagara Falls, CA - The Avalon Theatre at Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort @
Sun. May 10 - Albany, NY - The Egg @
Mon. May 11 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer @
Wed. May 13 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Steel @
Thu. May 14 - Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club @
Fri. May 15 - Norfolk, VA - The NorVa @
Sat. May 16 - Saxapahaw, NC - Haw River Ballroom @
Sun. May 17 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle @
Thu. Oct 8 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre !
Fri. Oct 9 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot !
Sat. Oct 10 - Boise, ID - Treefort Music Hall !
Mon. Oct 12 - Portland, OR - Revolution Hall !
Tue. Oct 13 - Seattle, WA - The 5th Avenue Theatre !
Thu. Oct 15 - Astoria, OR - Liberty Theatre !
Fri. Oct 16 - San Francisco, CA - The Castro !
Sat. Oct 17 - Los Angeles, CA - TBA !
Sun. Oct 18 - Los Angeles, CA - TBA %
Tue. Oct 20 - El Cajon, CA - The Magnolia %
Wed. Oct 21 - Tucson, AZ - La Rosa %
Fri. Oct 23 - San Antonio, TX - Stable Hall %
Sat. Oct 24 - Dallas, TX - Majestic Theatre %
Sun. Oct 25 - Tulsa, OK - Guthrie Green ! %
Tue. Oct 27 - Memphis, TN - TBA %
Wed. Oct 28 - Atlanta, GA - The Eastern
Thu. Oct 29 - Columbia, SC - The Senate %
*with Leah Senior
^ with Jenny Yim
@ with Improvement Movement
! with Ken Pomeroy
% with DUG
Hen’s Teeth is now available to preorder on CD/LP/all DSPs from Sub Pop. LPs purchased from megamart.subpop.com, MegaMart Europe in the UK + EU, and your local record store, will receive the limited Loser Edition on Transparent White (NA), Oxblood (UK/EU), and Australia/New Zealand (White) while supplies last.
Iron & Wine
Hen’s Teeth
Track Listing:
1. Roses
2. Paper and Stone
3. Robin’s Egg (feat. I’m With Her)
4. Singing Saw
5. In Your Ocean
6. Defiance, Ohio
7. Wait Up (feat. I’m With Her)
8. Grace Notes
9. Dates and Dead People
10. Half Measures
Lala Lala, the project of Lillie West, releases “Arrow,” the fourth single/video from her new album and Sub Pop debut, Heaven 2, out February 27th. “Arrow” marks a moment of bold joy, capturing the escape that happens when one is freed from pain. The song samples French electro-pop band La Femme and moves fast – its swiftness and pleasure feel like running towards something, not away. “None of this was supposed to happen,” West sings, as the song races away from her. “It’s such a basic spiritual thing,” West reflects. “Resistance is the root of all suffering, and I did not know that. I thought that I could dictate the course of my life.” Of course, like everyone else, she could not. Wherever you go, there you are.
“Arrow” follows “Heaven2,” the “haunting, vocal-and-synth exercise that slowly morphs into a dazzling and funky R&B slow jam,” (FLOOD) the “cosmic” (Stereogum) “Even Mountains Erode,” and the “exquisite” (Stereogum) lead single, “Does This Go Faster?.”
Watch the Video for “Arrow”
For many years, West lived in Chicago, where she established Lala Lala as an integral part of the city’s indie scene, releasing two albums – The Lamb (2018) and I Want the Door to Open (2021) – on the Sub Pop imprint Hardly Art. They were powerful statements from a curious artist: catchy guitar-pop songs about being stuck in the ups and downs of life, the struggle to stay sober, to leave town, to blow up your life. West left Chicago to search for more, and in the process, wrote Heaven 2. On her journey, she landed off the grid in Taos, Iceland, and London. Following a residency in a tiny Icelandic town, she made her way to Reykjavik and released an instrumental album, If I Were A Real Man I Would Be Able To Break The Neck Of A Suffering Bird (2024), and finally headed to Los Angeles, where she has, almost surprisingly, fallen in love and found herself settled.
West has always made her music in response to an itchiness to always be moving, but as she developed a burgeoning desire to settle, she found the surprise realization that steadiness can beget creativity. That evolutionary tension is what fuels Heaven 2. The album was co-produced by West and Jay Som’s Melina Duterte, who provides a strong punchiness as a bed for West’s warm, rounded vocals. Duterte and West performed almost all of the album’s instruments with a few crucial guests, including Sen Morimoto, Macie Stewart, and Porches’ Aaron Maine.
Heaven 2 is now available to preorder on CD/LP/all DSPs from Sub Pop. LPs purchased from megamart.subpop.com, MegaMart Europe in the UK + EU, and your local record store, will receive the limited Loser Edition on Ocean Blue (NA) and Crystal Clear (UK/EU) vinyl, while supplies last. Lala Lala will embark on a North American tour next month and will support Death Cab for Cutie for two dates in August.
Pre-Order Heaven 2
Watch the Video for “Does This Go Faster?”
Watch the Video for “Even Mountains Erode”
Listen to “Heaven2”
Lala Lala Tour Dates
(New Dates in Bold)
Fri. March 6 - San Diego, CA @ Casbah %
Sat. March 7 - Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy + Harriett’s %
Sun. March 8 - Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress %
Tue. March 10 - Austin, TX @ 29th St. Ballroom %
Wed. March 11 - Dallas, TX @ Rubber Gloves %
Fri. March 13 - Denver, CO @ Globe Hall %
Sun. March 15 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court %
Tue. March 17 - Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall %
Wed. March 18 - Seattle, WA @ Baba Yaga %
Fri. March 20 - San Francisco, CA @ Cafe du Nord %
Sat. March 21 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room %
Tue. March 31 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd*
Wed April 1 - Raleigh, NC @ Kings*
Thu. April 2 - Asheville, NC @ Eulogy*
Fri. April 3 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade Altar*
Sat. April 4 - Nashville, TN @ Blue Room @ Third Man*
Tue. April 7 - Minneapolis, MN @ Zhora Darling*
Wed. April 8 - Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club*
Thu. April 9 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall*
Fri. April 10 - Detroit, MI @ Lager House*
Sat. April 11 - Toronto, ON @ The Garrison*
Sun. April 12 - Montreal, CA @ L’Esco*
Tue. April 14 - Boston, MA @ The Sinclair*
Wed. April 15 - Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA*
Thu. April 16 - New York, NY @ Nightclub 101*
Fri. April 17 - Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right*
Thu. Aug. 6 - Las Vegas, NV @ The Theater at Virgin Hotels ^
Fri. Aug. 7 - Paso Robles, CA @ Vina Robles Amphitheatre ^
% = w/ lots of hands
* = w/ mother soki
^ = supporting Death Cab for Cutie
