{"product_id":"hannah-lew","title":"Hannah Lew","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“One foot out the door, another in the otherworld...”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSo begins Hannah Lew’s debut, self-titled solo record, soaked in imperious, wide-eyed pop songwriting and a girl-group\/post punk\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eaesthetic that belies the artist’s history in the U.S. underground. A towering, hook-laden album, it’s infused with an optimism and\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003esurrealism that conversely deals with the times we find ourselves in.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRecorded at home in Richmond, CA and in The Best House studio with Maryam Qudus in Oakland CA, with the assistance of a crack\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eteam of West Coast musicians, this album sees Hannah Lew stepping out from behind the legacy of her two groups Grass Widow and\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCold Beat. While musically bearing similarities with her previous work, “Hannah Lew” is a bold leap into direct pop territory, making\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eample use of a vocal style that teases out the inherent melancholy in her melodies. Mastered by Sarah Register, each song is a\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eperfectly honed nugget that frequently pulls the heart in two directions at once.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThemes of change, breaking up, shattering old ways of being are shot through the record. For the front cover, a photograph of the\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eartist’s face was printed, ripped up and re-assembled, resembling the creative process embarked upon by Lew for her\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e first “solo”\u003cbr\u003ematerial. The album feels instinctual, almost dream-like in its assemblage of sweeping synths and pulsating, propulsive drum machine\u003cbr\u003ebeat patterns with Lew’s vocal performances sensitive and caressing over the top. Increasingly relying on the subconscious and\u003cbr\u003edreams to guide her creative process, Hannah Lew frequently abandons literal interpretations or linear narratives, the songs seeming\u003cbr\u003eto exist in a swooning, effortless flow-state while remaining emotionally hard hitting.\u003cbr\u003eOn an album where every song could be a single, there are kaleidoscopic shades and varying emotional tones in abundance. First\u003cbr\u003esingle Another Twilight is carried along a pumping, Italo-disco-style 4\/4 beat and mono-synth bass line, the low end pulling at the\u003cbr\u003eheart and body. Lew’s vocal melody teases the track before swan-diving into a gorgeous chorus as she sings “it’s all over baby and I\u003cbr\u003edon’t mind... in decline, I take my time...” The album is suffused with moments like this. On slow builder Damaged Melody, an\u003cbr\u003earpeggiated synth elongates the verse before a cascading synth showers down melodic glitter. The stunning Replica uses dual\u003cbr\u003eswirling synth patterns before a driving, synthpop chorus for the ages carries Hannah Lew’s vocal into the stereo field, sailing in on a\u003cbr\u003ehigh register singed with the embers of a break up.\u003cbr\u003eIn a departure from previous groups, her solo songs are guided by dreams and free association inspired by Dada and the Surrealist\u003cbr\u003emovement and sculpted afterwards. As such, the songs reveal themselves on repeated listens, revealing traces of heartbreak inspired\u003cbr\u003eby both personal and global elements - Hannah Lew regards the album “a wartime album.” On Move In Silence, Lew intones “there’s\u003cbr\u003ea war outside, just out of view,” revealing the dichotomy at play throughout. With the songs evolving naturally and in a flow state, the\u003cbr\u003epressures and sadnesses of the modern age bleed through, mixed in with Lew’s inherent love, sensitivity and fractured-but-intact\u003cbr\u003eoptimism. On the swooning, sublime Sunday layers of Numanoid synths open up for the commanding vocal performance pontificating\u003cbr\u003eon grief, love, pain as she “feels the ache on Sunday...” As the chorus builds and Lew’s call-and-response vocal adds to the emotional\u003cbr\u003etension, it almost feels like too much to take.\u003cbr\u003eElsewhere, there are echoes of Hannah Lew’s previous work. On Time Wasted a bass guitar comes in with a heavy, punk attack\u003cbr\u003ebefore the synths and vocal harmonies reminiscent of later Cold Beat elevate everything. The glassy, sweetly resigned closer The\u003cbr\u003eClock sounds like so classic it could be cover, a sweetened Jesus \u0026amp; Mary Chain tune perhaps, before it erupts into volcanic chorus\u003cbr\u003ethat could only come from Hannah Lew in 2026.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Night School","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":53508247585110,"sku":"MRM-05129","price":23.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1000\/6088\/9430\/files\/07c473ed98009b311e19780be4876861.jpg?v=1778174157","url":"https:\/\/monorailmusic.com\/products\/hannah-lew","provider":"Monorail Music","version":"1.0","type":"link"}