We’re about to take a mighty swan dive into the weekend, and we’re bringing with us the groovy new class banger from W.H. Lung. It’s called “Pearl In The Palm,” it feels appropriate for getting lost both in the woods and on the dance floor, and it sets a slick tone for the Manchester outfit’s forthcoming sophomore album Vanities, out September 3 via Melodic Records.
W.H. Lung have described the new LP as a bit of a transition from 2019 debut Incidental Music, and “Pearl In The Palm” certainly pushes a certain mood, as if the worlds of electro, Krautrock, and a dash of Happy Mondays and Jaguar Ma swirled together in a flavorful cocktail of choice.
“The song is exploring relationships, the stakes of relationships, and how that defines the individual,” says W.H. Lung’s Joe Evans. “You can find yourself in a balloon, if you’re willing to let that happen. Just like you can find yourself in another person. And you’ve got to go away to come back.”
“Pearl In The Palm” also arrives with a colorful new video, starring one sexy red balloon, and maybe there’s something all along to getting lost in the woods while this is playing through trusted earbuds.
“This video was shot in January across the unlikely beauty of the Irish midlands, in Co. Offaly and Co. Laois,” Evans says. “My inexperience directing and shooting films is part of the story here. We did the whole thing on an iPhone with makeshift tripods and second-hand gimbals. It gives the video a beautifully honest, home-filmed quality.”
He adds: “The story speaks to a connection with nature so everything was shot outside, in the rain, in the cold, in the quiet of the early morning. There’s water, there’s forest, there’s bog, there’s a donkey. We wanted to say something about creative expressiveness too, which comes through in the amazing outfits, styled (and hand painted) by Spice Vintage. I think there’s also something in the video about spontaneous living and flowing with the unexpected. Like, a balloon? I’ll have a day out with it!”
We’re into it.