“[Marina Allen] sings over two chords that sway like a porch swing, at times topped by twin violins. Her voice sounds barely awake, equally ready for hardship and wonderment.”
The New York Times
Marina Allen, the Los Angeles-based singer and songwriter, shares a new single/video, ‘Swinging Doors’ from her upcoming third studio album, ‘Eight Pointed Star’, out June 7th on Fire Records. Following the “truly divine” (PAPER) lead single ‘Red Cloud’ , ‘Swinging Doors’ celebrates entering a new chapter in your life and the excitement when the new chapter feels right – “like the butterflies you get in the line at Six Flags or in the car on a first date. It’s an ode to risk equally as it’s an ode to trust,” says Allen.
“I wrote more about love than I ever have before on this record. Not even necessarily romantic love. ‘Swinging Doors’ is a trust fall. But instead of self-reflection, it’s more about experientially discovering what that means.” Marina Allen
You can hear contentment radiating from the music, with Chris Cohen’s (Weyes Blood, Le Ren) production offering a full-band affair. The instrumentation is rich and bursting with brightness, as slide guitar drifts over acoustic thrums. With an affection for singers such as The Roches, Karen Dalton, Joanna Newsom and Meredith Monk, Allen’s voice stands up to the canon – never sounding more resolute than it does here.
Full of little, radical acts, coming from a place of truth, ‘Eight Pointed Star’ favors a type of soul-searching that doesn’t dwell in complications, and is open to answers. Trust is the centrifuge around which themes of love, family and folklore unfurl across the album. “The way that I write music is fundamentally a trust exercise,” Allen says, “allowing your mind to be quiet, seeing what arises and following the flickers. Sitting with that feeling and making it work, I think of songwriting in general as a collage – scrapping together these ideas to create a new whole. But it’s also for looking into the future with this thing that’s supposed to give you… I don’t know, comfort. There was a sense when I was writing Eight Pointed Star of searching. Searching is the other side of the quarter when it comes to trust.”
“Versatile and emotive… she transitions with ease between her silky high register and firmer lower tones.” Paste – Best New Songs
Live Dates:
05 May: Ojai Deer Lodge, Ojai, CA, US ~
13 Jun: Scribble, Los Angeles, CA, US
19 Jun: Union Pool, New York, NY, US
21 Jun: The Slaughtered Lamb, London, UK
24 Jun: Cirkus, Stockholm, Sweden *
25 Jun: Sentrum Scene, Oslo, Norway *
26 Jun: DR Koncerthusets, Copenhagen, Denmark *
29 Jun: De Vereeniging, Nijmegen, Netherlands *
30 Jun: De Oosterpoort, Groningen, Netherlands *
02 Oct: The Ford Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, US †
03 Oct: Henry Miller Memorial Library, Big Sur, CA †
* With Ben Howard
† With Devendra Banhart
~ With Fruit Bats
