Having toured the UK, Europe, Australia and America extensively over the years – singing and playing keys/percussion with Gaz Coombes, performing and arranging backing vocals for Noel Gallagher, and supporting the likes of Ride, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Magic Numbers (to name a few!) -, Piney Gir has recently released her new EP, Cosmic Upside Down. Completing a magical trilogy of releases, following Alchemy Hand in 2022 and its predecessor Astral Spectra in 2021, the EP marks twenty years since Piney Gir released her first album, Peakahokahoo. Touching on themes ranging from climate change to feminism, it maintains the spiritual roots and majestic immersive splendour that we’ve come to know and love from the self-proclaimed ‘witch’ of indie-pop.
Taken from the EP, ‘Show Me The Lightning‘ sees Piney embracing the storm of her emotions. Dripping in psychedelic synths and glistening reverb, it offers a powerful slice of retro garage-rock, complete with ’60s-inspired organs and cyclical guitar, as Piney declares she “wants to feel it all”. Impossible not to get caught up in its jaunty, lilting energy and the sparkling allure of Piney’s lush honey-sweet vocals, it offers an uplifting and captivating ode to the power of the natural elements; recognising how weathering a storm can help us to grow. She explains:
“In the song I kind of dare the elements to pull out all the stops! Like, give it to me, I want to feel it all! And that’s true, I want to feel everything, the good and the bad, the highs and the lows. I think it’s important to be in touch with the whole spectrum of emotion & not numb the stormy weather, but to go with it.”
‘Show Me The Lightning’ is accompanied by a brand new new video, created and directed by Parenthesis Dot Dot Dot. Depicting Piney Gir as a quirky, witchy weather girl, and featuring appearances from an ominichord, dog puppets and even an ‘omin-dog’, it offers a wonderfully off-kilter visualisation of the track; a fun-filled tale of supernatural forces which is not to be missed! Talking about the inspirations behind the making of the video, the director explains:
“The original idea came from one of Nick Cave’s documentaries about when he moved to the UK, and began obsessively writing about the weather in an altered state. So much so that he started to believe that he was in control of the weather. It then spiralled out of control and became something bigger, a sort of weird Tim Burton-esque B-movie thing involving special effects and puppets!“
Piney adds:
“I love how deranged and happy he coaxed me to be as the weather girl filling the world with storms… I really enjoyed the bit where I bring the Omni-dog to life. I can’t believe Parenthesis made that dog puppet overnight, its teeth were made of rubber bands, and it fit perfectly around my Omnichord! Was ridiculously fun shooting this!“
Watch the “ridiculously fun” new video for ‘Show Me The Lightning’, for the first time, here:
Cosmic Upside Down, the new EP from Piney Gir, is out now on No Distance Records. Download / listen on bandcamp now. And don’t miss a special night celebrating 20 years since Piney Gir’s first album on 13th October at The Lexington – she’ll be joined by a superstar line-up including Anat Ben-David (Chicks On Speed) and Psycho Delia (Robots in Disguise) and DJ Chewy She – nab tickets here!
Mari Lane
@marimindles
Get In Her Ears 