The Staves @ The Institute this Sunday
The Staves return to Birmingham this Sunday (1st November) following their previous sell-out show here and the release of their Top 20 second album If I Was.
Just one listen to Blood I Bled EP will tell you The Staves have changed since their debut album was released in 2012. Of course, the sisters haven’t abandoned their beautiful, signature close harmonies, but they have bolstered them with a clutch of multi-layered, hugely ambi-tious songs, recorded with the scale and confidence that can only come after three years on the road.
The aforementioned ‘Blood I Bled’ opens The Staves’ second album If I Was, and was indeed the first track written, recorded, and released from the album. Initially, the song lay dormant while they performed all over the world, including appearing alongside Mumford & Sons during their Glastonbury headlining slot in 2013 and several tours with American cult heroes Bon Iver. Having formed strong friendships with the latter band’s founder Justin Vernon and his assembled gaggle of players, the sisters were invited to his April Base studio in Wisconsin to work on whatever music they had in a relaxed, idyllic setting.
The resulting album is as stunning as the snow-covered landscape it was recorded in; at once deeply personal to each sister, fuelled by heartbreak and individual turbulence, it’s also full of hope, redemption and positivity for an uncertain future.
Tickets are available here