Kathryn Williams and Dan Willson (aka Withered Hand) have announced a collaborative new album, ‘Willson Williams’, out April 26th via One Little Independent Records.
Last year, Dan surprised many when he returned, nine years after his New Gods LP with How To Love on Reveal Records, declared a triumph and feel-good wonder by Folk Radio’s Danny Neill, who also described it as “a remarkable album of human endurance that finds its thrills in the simple pleasures of life and living it as best you can.” In 2022, Kathryn released Night Drives, reviewed by Bob Fish: “she continues to explore ways to intrigue and find touchstones outside the commonplace.”
Anyone familiar with their music will know their common threads: inventive folk instrumentation, reflective and sincere lyricism, and not a small amount of self-deprecation.
Their modest confessionals, written poetically and over nostalgic and atmospheric melodies, are as relatable as ever, and together on this new album, they find new ways to unpack their feelings.
For their first single, ‘Shelf’, they turned to Marry Waterson to create the video below, which she said was a ‘joy to make’.
It’s described as a breezy and laid-back number that details their doubts but in a playful manner that works to let them and the listener know that they’re in good company. “This song came from laughing about our own insecurities and making fun of ourselves for all that we worry about. The feeling was that we would put up a shelf together in the way adults do DIY and make a difference in their lives. It was a sweet opening of just feeling like neither of us were alone in our weirdness, which has become a running theme between us and the mental pitfalls of navigating, performing, creating and self-worth”.
Stream ‘Shelf’ – https://kathryn-williams.lnk.to/shelf
The duo first met in 2019 at the Spiegeltent during the Edinburgh International Book Festival, curated by Hollie McNish and Michael Pedersen. They began making music together, travelling for writing sessions at each other’s homes and became fast friends. “We talk and spend time together,” says Dan, “and then it’s almost like the next time we sit down to write, a synthesis of late-night kitchen conversations become distilled into the songs. It’s hard to separate who’s done what and where the songs sprang from. The writing and the friendship with Kath rejuvenated my own songwriting process enough to be able to do this”.
The record was made with the help of Creative Scotland, who funded the recording, enabling the duo to enlist some of the finest talent the Scottish music scene has to offer: artists such as Louis Abbott (Admiral Fallow), Graeme Smillie (Arab Strap/The Delgados), Kris Drever (Lau), Chris ‘Beans’ Geddes (Belle & Sebastian), Pete Harvey (Modern Studies) and Kenny Anderson (King Creosote). Producer Rod Jones (Idlewild) recorded, engineered, and mixed the record at Post Electric Studio in Leith.
Willson Williams Tracklisting
- Arrow
- Grace
- R U 4 Real
- Our Best
- Shelf
- Wish
- Sweetest Wine
- Weekend
- Sing Out
- Elvis
- Big Nothing
Pre-order: https://kathrynwilliams1.bandcamp.com/album/willson-williams
Live dates
1 May – Mono, Glasgow
2 May – Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle
3 May – Perth Theatre, Perth
4 May – Summerhall, Edinburgh
5 May – Kitchen Garden Cafe, King’s Heath, Birmingham
7 May – The Holy GrALE, Durham
9 May – Horse & Bamboo Theatre, Rossendale
10 May – Halle St Michaels, Manchester
11 May – Edge Arts Centre, Much Wenlock
12 May – The Musician, Leicester
22 May – Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
23 May – The Bear Club, Luton
25 May – Hope & Ruin, Brighton
26 May – Water Rats, London
29 May – Town Hall, Selby
30 May – The Courthouse, Otley
31 May – Folk House, Bristol
Follow Kathryn Williams
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Follow Withered Hand
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter