RELEASES NEW SINGLE ‘DEMONS’ TAKEN FROM NEW ALBUM ‘HARDCORE FROM THE HEART’ OUT JUNE 11 ON LOOSE MUSIC
“You’re going to fall deeply in love with her… just amazing.” – Guy Garvey, BBC Radio 6Music
“…a gem of haunted reflection” – 9/10, Uncut
‘Demons’ is the third single to be taken from Serrat’s new album ‘Hardcore From The Heart’ – out June 11 – following ‘You’re With Me Everywhere I Go’ – which received a spin on Guy Garvey’s 6Music show last Sunday – and ‘Pictures’.
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.”
Absorbing and atmospheric, ‘Demons’ perfectly illustrates the album’s rich textures. “I wrote Demons in a hotel lobby while waiting for my ride to take me to my next show,” comments Joana of the track. “I woke up a little tired that morning and I was probably hungover. Back in those days I was going through uncharted waters and although I loved being on the road, I hated the feeling of the loneliness that the hotel room would bring after a show. This song talks about that loneliness – ‘restless hearts that never mend’ to quote The Eagles.
“I spent my twenties believing that I wasn’t made for a proper relationship, and then I met my partner. Recently, when I was facing a big personal crisis, all those fears emerged again. In a sense, it’s what I think Bob Dylan’s ‘Blood On The Tracks’ is also about: if this precious relationship is not working then there is no way I am going to be successful in love. So I just reached the conclusion that I didn’t need to be fixed by love, by anything or by anyone.”
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.
‘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.
On the album 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 keyboard-player 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 Joana Serrat’s best vocal performance to date and marks a literary peak in her songwriting career.
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 acclaalt-country of Lambchop. Gorgeous.” – NME
“An amazing artist, I’m a huge fan – an astonishing voice & 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