It’s been a while since we checked in with Fenno-Scandian prog rock game-changers Pennies By The Pound – last year, we presented several offerings from theirdebut album ‘Heat Death of the Universe’, and, since then, they have released several singles in the lead-up to their sophomore record – the concept album ‘Nothingside’ will be released soon via the Lilith label.
Ahead of that, we are pleased to unveil their beautiful new track ‘Whispers Under The Willow Tree’, a stellar prog rock effort that harkens to the heyday of 70s and 80s UK prog releases. This song is about longing for the past and regret. However, we regret nothing about this – it’s a recommended listen, one that will sink nicely into your brain and charge you with new energy. We are already looking forward to hearing the full album.
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Hailing from Helsinki, the band worked with RIDE frontman Mark Gardener, who mastered the track at his OX4 Sound Studio in Oxford, and top national producerRauli ‘Rake’ Eskolin, who boasts over a dozen No.1 records in Finland to his name.
Following up their invigorating lead track ‘Burning Wish’ and their recent 80s inspired synth-laden single ‘The End Times’, which saw the band depart from their trademark British-style progressive rock output, this new single is about love gone astray and the consequences thereof. Though they might be a bit cryptic, the whispers are also evocative of both spring and summer – which can sometimes feel really similar, at least in Finland.
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Pennies by the Pound was formed by Johannes Susitaival and Vesa Ranta in 2017, later expanding with the addition of Tomi Laaksonen and Alexander Meaney. Having written for various bands, Johannes’ exploration and passion for alternative and progressive rock led to Pennies’ self-produced ‘Bloodshed and the Blinding Sunlight’ EP in 2018, followed by their critically-acclaimed Their ‘Nothingside’ LP takes them to a fantastic new realm beyond that.
Johannes Susitaival says, “‘Whispers Beneath the Willow Tree’ is the middle ground on the ‘Nothingside’ album – a kind of a breather in between a few extremes, so to speak. If I remember correctly, this was the first complete song I wrote for this album, and it came out really quickly. To me, it feels kind of effortless, compared to a lot of the other songs on the record.”
As of March 10, ‘Whispers Beneath The Willow Tree’ will be available everywhere digitally, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp, where the first two singles can already be downloaded. The full ‘Nothingside’ album will be released on April 7.
CREDITS
Music & lyrics by Johannes Susitaival
Arranged by Pennies By The Pound and Rauli Eskolin
Johannes Susitaival – vocals, rhythm guitar, drums, keyboards
Vesa Ranta – lead guitar
Alexander Meaney – rhythm guitar
Tomi Laaksonen – bass guitar
Rauli Eskolin – additional keyboards
Produced, recorded and mixed by Rauli Eskolin
Mastered by Mark Gardener at OX4 Sound
ISRC code FI-LLH-23-00001
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