The project of Northern California-born, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Haylie Hostetter, Lady Apple Tree blends classic folk and soul sensibilities to create an evocative sound. Hostetter has been involved with a variety of projects in the LA scene, from Sylvie, Drugdealer and Sam Burton to the folk duo Will & Haylie, and it was while on tour with Burton in Europe, opening shows for Weyes Blood, that Hostetter released the debut Lady Apple Tree track ‘Didn’t Want to Have to Do It’. A soulful, sinuous song built around the voice at its heart, Hostetter’s vocals rising from sultry croon to impassioned urgency, playing like something from a forgotten country star brought into the present.
Ahead of the debut Lady Apple Tree EP coming later this year, new single ‘Silver Hands’ sees a development of this style. A track seemingly born in the sixties or seventies, full of the lush harmonies and sepia-toned polish of the era. But beneath the bright surface lies something altogether darker, the lyrics an adaptation of ‘The Girl Without Hands’ by the Brothers Grimm. The titular young maiden suffers the amputation after her father strikes a Faustian bargain, only to marry a king and have new hands made of silver. Here the tale is repurposed to stress the coming-of-age story at its centre, a girl moving through a world of male cruelty, fear and pity and becoming a woman in the process.
Daughter of the miller, spirit so pure
Dressed in white linen at the devil’s door
The demon found her and her innocence
Spilled the red river and her youthfulnessHandless maiden, where are you bound?
Kingdom of angels or underground
Check out the video directed by Sam Burton below:
‘Silver Hands’ is out now and available from the Lady Apple Tree Bandcamp page.
Photo by Cade C. Guillory