Back in November, we wrote about ‘The Rails’ by Mumble Tide, a single which saw the Bristol duo enlist producer Stew Jackson (Massive Attack) to weave a newly patient sound. But the change of direction went further than Jackson’s influence, stemming from the shifting dynamics at the heart of the project. Lyricist and vocalist Gina Leonard and composer Ryan Rogers were a romantic couple for Mumble Tide’s three prior EPs, though have now gone through a break-up and what they describe as a “rare transition into a genuine friendship.” Debut full-length Might As Well Play Another One, out this spring on Breakfast Records, is a product of this period. A dispatch from a time of upheaval and loss which slowly arcs towards acceptance.
Latest single ‘Mawpao’ grounds both the style and theme of the album, offering a sound undeniably sad yet reaching towards something more uplifting. The track opens in a moment of hushed solitude, Leonard’s reflective vocals sitting on a bed of synths and woodwind, though gradually rises across its length as further elements layer in. The sense of melancholy not so much overcome as accepted. “I wrote ‘Mawpao’ in my bedroom looking out of the window, feeling a sense of peace after a bumpy few months/years,” Leonard explains. “I lived with some real assholes in that London house, but the view of the sky was pretty. There’s a magic in writing songs where you can turn things around, flip them over until they look and feel better. I think I am quite good at catastrophising – especially when it comes to my no-good-rotten-self, but actually deep down I believe that I am good at writing songs, or at least that there is some inherent good in the songs, even if it is just for me.”
Watch the video directed by Steph and Marie Dutton below:
Might As Well Play Another One will be released via Breakfast Records on the 1st May and you can pre-order it now from the Mumble Tide Bandcamp page.