Fenne Lily shares ‘Dawncolored House’ ahead of new album
Fenne Lily, who recently announced her new album Big Picture, has now presented the latest single, ‘Dawncolored Horse’. The track is set to feature on the album and follows on from the previously released effort ‘Lights Light Up’. The latest single provides an uplifting meditation on the freedom that comes with closeness.
The Dorset-born folk singer derived the title from a Richard Brautigan poem ‘The Horse That Had A Flat Tire’. The song represents the artist’s interpretation of the work, and we see a reflection of the idea that another person can become almost a sentient space in which to exist. Lily explains: “[Brautigan] talks about the woman he loves as being a ‘breathing castle’. I truly don’t know what that means, but for me, he’s distilled a feeling of absolute closeness. When you know someone so well, it feels like you’re almost living inside them. That can be claustrophobic, but before it’s too much, it’s incredible.”
She then continued: “A lot of the music I was listening to while I was writing seemed to be old kind of country stuff. The album Anymore For Anymore by Ronnie Lane and Slim Change was a big one (‘hear Roll On Babe from’ 74′) — anything that sounded warm and comfortable, just people in a room playing what came most naturally. When I brought this song to the band, it easily fell into that sort of world — it felt stable, which is cool for a song that came from a place of total instability.”
Written during the pandemic, ‘Dawncolored Horse’ encapsulates the frustrations of the time. Lily’s soft voice and country-inspired rhythm act as an offbeat juxtaposition to the bleaker undertones. The singer pays tribute to that combination of nerves and possible fears when letting someone get too close. She delivers all this in her usual distinct ambling, almost inquisitive manner. At times, she feels a little downbeat and sombre while still offering an empathetic ear and shoulder. Her whispered vocals combine and coalesce so succinctly with the warm guitar tone welcoming us in.
Her new album, Big Picture, is a captivating and gripping portrait of Fenne’s last two years. The album was brought about to self-soothe and offer a brilliant catharsis for the musician. Recorded live in co-producer Brad Cook’s North Carolina studio, the record delineates the phases of love. These phases slowly form a map of comfort versus claustrophobia.
In the coming months, Fenne Lily will also embark on a tour across the UK and Europe with Naima Bock. Then she will kick off a co-headlining North American tour with Christian Lee Hutson. Both tours will support the album set to drop on April 14th, and the tickets for the upcoming dates are available here.
‘Dawncolored Horse’ is a beautifully written track that is sure to recall both past and current experiences. Whether it’s the comfort or discomfort we have felt in a relationship, this will hit too close to home for many. With this latest single and her previous single, ‘Lights Light Up’, fans are sure to be excited about the new album.
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