Australian folk pop darlings, Pierce Brothers have dropped their new single It’s Alright, a headfirst dive into high energy blues and roots, out today November 27. It’s Alright tells the story of overcoming hardship and solitude to truly appreciate what’s important, and to see the love that surrounds you if you search for it [Listen: IT’S ALRIGHT]. It’s Alright is also accompanied by an affecting music video about finding comfort in an unlikely place [WATCH: IT’S ALRIGHT]. The single preceeds the Pierce Brothers’ highly anticipated sophomore album, Into The Great Unknown set for release on March 5, 2021.
Written years apart over two separate time periods, It’s Alright is truly the joining of both sides of the Pierce Brothers. The chorus, penned by Jack Pierce while treking through the mountains of Switzerland in 2018, sat in a drawer unused for the last album until brother Pat took the track and re-worked it, writing all new verses and giving the track a new blues-inspired life. Produced by Jan Skubizeski (John Butler, The Cat Empire), mixed by Phil Threfall (Illy, Ed Sheeran), and mastered by Joe Carra at Crystal Mastering (The Tesky Brothers, The Cat Empire), It’s Alright is the return to energetic folk roots that Pierce Brothers are known for, and will have fans of Nathaniel Rateliff and The
Filmed by Carl Allison (Tones and I) and Jesse Leaman (Leaman Films, Didirri), and shot in Melbourne’s outer eastern regions the day lockdown ended, the video for It’s Alright sees the story of two warring soldiers finding comfort in one another after stumbling upon a Wonderland-inspired teaparty. “We have worked a lot with Carl Allison in the past,“ explains Pat, “he and Jesse pitched us the idea and we just thought it sounded so interesting, weird and delightful. I was a little worried it’d come off too over the top, but I’m stoked at how it turned out, just a really nice story of two people finding comfort somewhere unexpected.”
Into The Great Unknown was recorded at Jan Skubizeski’s Red Moon Studios in Gisborne from April to June 2020, between the two Victorian lockdowns, with Jack and Pat spending most days recording in the studio and most evenings on site in the guest cottage working on new material. “We’d finish a long day recording a track, then have dinner together, share a bottle of red and either work on the track some more, or we’d retire to the cottage and write until we went to sleep,” explains Jack. “We spent hours discussing and exploring new sounds and experimenting with a secondary recording rig in the cottage, so we could test out new and exciting things before taking them to the studio the next day. This made for some beautifully experimental explorations throughout the album, opitimised by the stunning instrumental track Réflecteur. Pat used his time to mock up strings arrangements and horn ideas that we then took to some incredibly talented people to bring to life!” The strings and horns arrangements, put together by Ross Iwrin (The Cat Empire, Angus and Julia Stone, Passenger) lift the album to a new level, with Pat noting, “The string arrangements realised a whole avenue that we’d always wanted to explore, inspired a lot by Gang Of Youths’ brilliant 2017 album Go Farther In Lightness, and expanded the depth of the album in ways that we’d never tried.”
Into The Great Unknown is the first 100% independent body of work from Pierce Brothers since they burst onto the scene with 2014’s The Night Tree. “This album almost didn’t happen,” Jack recalls, “We have toured relentlessly for 5 years, and until now, we could only record on select days in between tours. We were at each other’s throats! With pressure to write, and fatigue from the road, it almost broke the band up. The COVID-19 crisis decimated the live music scene and the main aspect of our income, so funding this album independently was a challenge. The time that we had off from touring during lockdown, while difficult, made us laser focussed like never before on the writing process. It has provided us a new roster of tracks that we can’t wait to play live. Whilst it was an unwelcome break in our lives, it helped create the best album we’ve ever written!”
Pierce Brothers will be playing their postponed shows throughout the summer with limited capacities due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
IT’S ALRIGHT is out November 27 via DITTO
INTO THE GREAT UNKNOWN is out March 5 via DITTO
Pre-orders INTO THE GREAT UNKNOWN here https://ffm.to/pbitgu
Listen: IT’S ALRIGHT
Watch: IT’S ALRIGHT
INTO THE GREAT UNKNOWN Tracklist
1. white caps come
2. dentist
3. brother
4. it’s alright
5. la montagne
6. lights of london
7. réflecteur
8. trouble
9. waves of winter
10. petty
11. kanko
12. one
PIERCE BROTHERS SUMMER 20/21TOUR
Tickets available from www.piercebrothers.com/
FRI, 11 DEC 20 | THE GRAND, MORNINGTON | FINAL TICKETS
SAT, 12 DEC 20 | THE GRAND, MORNINGTON | SOLD OUT
FRI, 18 DEC 20 | SANDY POINT HALL, SANDY POINT | SOLD OUT
SAT, 19 DEC 20 | WESTERNPORT HOTEL, SAN REMO | SOLD OUT
SAT, 19 DEC 20 | WESTERNPORT HOTEL, SAN REMO | SOLD OUT
TUE, 29 DEC 20 | THE PELICAN BAR, QUEENSCLIFF | FINAL TICKETS
WED, 30 DEC 20 | THE PELICAN BAR, QUEENSCLIFF | SOLD OUT
WED, 6 JAN 20 | SOOKIE LOUNGE, BELGRAVE | SOLD OUT
THU, 7 JAN 20 | SOOKIE LOUNGE, BELGRAVE | SOLD OUT
SUN, 10 JAN 20 | TORQUAY HOTEL, TORQUAY | SOLD OUT
THU, 14 JAN 20 | LA LA LA’S, WOLLONGONG | SOLD OUT
FRI, 15 JAN 20 | CAMBRIDGE WAREHOUSE, NEWCASTLE | FINAL TICKETS
SAT, 16 JAN 20 | TRANSIT BAR, CANBERRA | FINAL TICKETS
SUN, 17 JAN 20 | BEER DELUXE, ALBURY | FINAL TICKETS
23 JAN | VOLTA ARTS & CULTURE, BALLARRAT | JUST ANNOUNCED
20 MAR | THE SHEDS, WONTHAGGI | JUST ANNOUNCED
FRI, 2 APR 20 | BLUESFEST, BYRON BAY
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