Today, Brooklyn-based piano-violin duo Gracie and Rachel return with a poignant new single titled “WTF”. The single lands on the heels of the recent announcement that they will join DIY feminist icon Ani DiFranco on her EU / UK headline tour this month. Listen to "WTF" HERE.
Blending baroque instrumentation, ethereal vocals, and penetrating vulnerability, the duo are far more than the sum of their parts. Their unique approach to future-facing indie-folk / pop has seen them picked up by DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records, as well as earning a spot in NPR Music’s Bob Boilen’s Top 10 Songs of the Year and appearing twice on the highly coveted Tiny Desk Concerts series.
Their new single “WTF” marks a first for Gracie and Rachel with the inclusion of guitar and a rawness we’ve yet to hear from the duo. Produced by Benjamin Lazar Davis (Maya Hawke, Okkervil River, Joan As Police Woman), the track sees spiraling, ruminative verses unwind and give way to an epiphanic hook-driven chorus in which the duo singing “what the fuck” in harmony over rhythmic guitars, subtly intricate piano lines and wistful violin. Once again, the track shows their inimitable ability to create highly infectious widescreen soundscapes from seemingly very little.
Speaking on the single the duo says,
“We wanted to explore a feeling of cyclical stickiness in the verses and expand into a sort of sensory release of catharsis in the choruses. We hope there's some humour found in singing the words 'what the fuck' angelically... It's the wave of impatience to wonder how to leave, the exclamation point to not, and the wonder why you didn't or when you will.”
The single is also accompanied by a surreal new video shot on Super 8 film by Julia Margo Ross, featuring a giant goat’s head, fake blue clouds on towering stands, and a masked figure who chases the duo to their car where they make their escape.
Having opened for the likes of Tori Amos, Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, and more in the US, the forthcoming live dates with Ani DiFranco will mark their first live dates in the EU and UK. They will play every date of the tour with the exception of DiFranco’s Royal Albert Hall date with Anaïs Mitchell on 11th June, and her Glastonbury appearance. With the duo’s third full-length album due out later this year, these live shows will see also them showcase new material for the first time.
UNPRECEDENTED SH!T: THE TOUR
with special guest Gracie and Rachel
Jun-12 - Antwerp, BE - De Roma
Jun-14 - Rome, IT - Casa Del Jazz
Jun-15 - Ferrara, IT - Cortile del Castello
Jun-17 - Utrecht, NL - TivoliVredenburg
Jun-18 - Dusseldorf, DE - Savoy Theater
Jun-19 - Berlin, DE - Passionskirche
Jun-22 - Dublin, IE - National Concert Hall
Jun-24 - Gateshead, UK - The Glasshouse
Jun-25 - Glasgow, UK - Pavilion Theatre
Jun-28 - Coventry, UK - Warwick Arts Centre
Jun-29 - Cardiff, UK - New Theatre
FOLLOW GRACIE AND RACHEL
Official Site / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube
UK Press Enquiries
will@prescriptionpr.co.uk