Katherine Priddy has just released her third album, ‘These Frightening Machines’ on 6th March via Cooking Vinyl. The new record follows Priddy’s highly acclaimed debut ‘The Eternal Rocks Beneath’ and sophomore LP ‘The Pendulum Swing’ which firmly established her as one of the most exciting artists on the contemporary British music scene.
Following the success of her first two singles ‘Matches’, a powerful feminist anthem, and ‘Frightening Machines’, a deeply emotive second track, Priddy then went on to share a third new single in the form of ‘Hurricane’, an expansion of her sound into a sultry groove with a cautionary tale of dangerous love.
Speaking about the song, Priddy said: “This is a love song about the kind of person who you know is going to break your heart and leave havoc in their wake, but you just can’t resist them, using the metaphor of a hurricane to describe the damage they do if you’re caught in their path. I really enjoyed recording it and having a bit of fun in the studio. I actually came up with the bones for this song whilst taking shelter from a tornado in Nashville and listening to the sirens outside. You never know when inspiration will strike!”
In celebration of the new album release, Priddy will take to the road in April and May for a lengthy UK headline tour, which includes a concert here in Brighton – Dates below.
Speaking about ‘These Frightening Machines’, Priddy shared: “If the first album was for building a foundation, and the second album was about reinforcing what I’d already begun, the third album felt to me like a chance to be bolder, push out and try something new.”
Produced by Rob Ellis (P J Harvey, Anna Calvi, Marianne Faithfull, Bat for Lashes) and recorded at The Glaucus House, Middle Farm Studios in rural Devon, ‘These Frightening Machines’ was written over the course of a year as Priddy made the transition from her 20s to her 30s. She consciously kept an open mind during the making of the album, focussed purely on being creative, and determined to let the songs find their own form.
“At its core,” added Priddy, “I think ‘These Frightening Machines’ explores the ever shifting relationship I have with my sense of self as a woman, my body and my place in the world as a 30year old artist – but I’d like to think that whilst the songs are born from personal experience, the feelings expressed are widely relatable.”
The most sonically varied of her career, the songs on Priddy’s new album span a full spectrum of emotions from anger and despair to hope, longing and lust, from reclaiming the voices of women silenced by history, to expressing solidarity and love, to confronting illness, disconnection, the vulnerability and importance of relationships, and the general ache of growing older and not always wiser. They explore what it means to keep going when things fall apart, to hold onto connections in a world that sometimes divides, and to figure out where we fit into the machines and systems we find ourselves a part of.
“I wanted to end this album on a question mark,” said Priddy “as whilst I’d have hoped to have it all figured out by the third album and my third decade, I’ve come to accept that perhaps part of being human is being a perpetual work in progress. Could this collection of songs be enough? If it strikes a match and casts a little light for anyone who has ever felt their body falter, their love waver, or time slip through their fingers, then that’s enough for me.”
Notable guests on ‘These Frightening Machines’ include American singer/songwriter Torres who duets on ‘Madeleine’, and Richard Walters who duets on ‘I’m Always Willing’. Revered,alt folk multi-instrumentalist Ben Christophers (Natasha Khan, Guy Garvey and many more) features on most of the album’s tracks.
Headline Tour Dates:
Thu Apr 16 : Stroud The Sub Rooms
Fri Apr 17 : Brighton St George’s Church
Sat Apr 18 : Southampton Papillon
Sun Apr 19 : Cambridge Junction 2
Mon Apr 20 : Norwich Arts Centre
Wed Apr 22 : Bristol St George’s
Thu Apr 23 : London Union Chapel
Fri Apr 24 : Nottingham Metronome
Sat Apr 25 : Liverpool Tung Auditorium
Sun Apr 26 : Leeds Howard Assembly Room
Tues Apr 28 : Oxford Holywell Music Room
Wed Apr 29 : Manchester Stoller Hall
Thu Apr 30 : Edinburgh Pleasance
Fri May 1 : Gateshead Glasshouse Sage Two
Sat May 2 : Barnsley Birdwell Venue
Sun May 3 : Pocklington Arts Centre
Tue May 5 : Buxton Pavilion Arts Centre
Wed May 6 : Milton Keynes The Stables
Thu May 7 : Exeter Phoenix
Fri May 8 : Cardiff The Gate
Sat May 9 : Birmingham Town Hall
Many dates have already swiftly sold out, but check out the latest ticket availability HERE.
