20 October 2022 - 0 Comments

Womb are back with The Dove — the second single to be shared from the trio’s upcoming album Dreaming of the Future Again, out November 11 via Flying Nun Records.

Alongside the heart-wrenching new single, comes a beautiful self-directed video dedicated to Georgette Brown’s (drums) late father, Justin Brown, and made with the support of New Zealand on Air. With twins Cello and Haz spending more time behind the camera for this video, the trio have created a visual accompaniment that feels a lot more personal than your typical music video.

“The Dove is a song for grief. We think of the dove, or any bird really, as a messenger between this world and another, being a winged creature that can fly between the earth and sky. Something about this song feels urgent: it was written and recorded in the week of Georgette’s father’s passing and: it came out fully formed. At the same time, The Dove is about trying to find vibrancy; feeling the wind, and feeling the way in which the wind is always something living.”

Womb is made up of siblings Cello Forrester (vocals, guitar, strings), Haz Forrester (synth, guitar), and Georgette Brown (drums). Their music is a composite of the three and builds on the shoegaze and dream pop sounds they are inspired by.

Dreaming of the Future Again is Womb’s sophomore album, recorded between 2020 and 2022, between living rooms and bedrooms, and at their dear friend and collaborator Bevan Smith’s backyard studio, Circle Blue Studios. “Dreaming of the future again” is a phrase that sprang to mind for Cello as they woke up one morning, and these are the words that tether each song on the album together.

The album builds musically from where their previous album, Like Splitting the Head from the Body, left off. The arrangements have moments that are layered, warm, and ethereal, where Georgette's driving drums are met with percussive samples, Haz’s synths bend and rise, and Cello’s textured strings stretch across the tracks. There are also sparse moments that draw you to Cello’s direct vocal delivery, for example on the opening track, Sylvan’s Song, and later in The Dove.

Lyrically, the songs trace moments across the two years recording the album, drawing on a repeated lexicon for Cello: of light and refraction; butterflies; birds; and dreaming. Each song is both personal and allegorical, and looks at connection and the things we are tethered to.

The album art is a drawing of a star-flower by band member and artist Georgette — titled, “I want you to see above your head a beautiful, beautiful star”. The drawing is on the wall of Cello and Georgette’s kitchen. The title of this artwork comes from a book that Georgette’s dad, Justin, used to read to her, guiding a visualisation of a star that is your very own, one which you can carry with you everywhere you go.

Whilst forming in Pōneke, Aotearoa, music has always been central to the siblings’ relationship. In the flat cornfield suburbs of Illinois, Georgette would share Limewire mp3s between the three. Before then their older siblings would show them music when they lived in a Eucalyptus forest near Daylesford, Australia. After moving to Pōneke, Aotearoa in their teenage years, the three grew alongside the music community they found.

Since their inception, Womb have released their first self-titled Womb EP (Sonorous Circle, 2015), their debut album Like Splitting the Head from the Body (Arcade Recordings and Sonorous Circle, 2018), and their second EP, Holding a Flame (Flying Nun Records, 2021).

Womb have toured many times nationally around New Zealand, as well as taking their sound abroad to Hobart’s Hobienalle in 2019, and touring mainland China in 2019 with friend and booking manager Kristen Ng / Kiwese / Kaishandao. Cello, Haz, and Georgette are all Cancer risings.

Dreaming of the Future Again is out digitally and on 180g black vinyl on November 11th, 2022 via Flying Nun Records.

Photo Credit: Georgette Brown

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