Pomp and Swell - Annie Oakley
LCM #SongOfTheDay: ‘Pomp & Swell’ - Annie Oakley
With a brand new album ‘Words We Mean’ set for release on the 12th October our featured band today are the award winning Oklahoma City-based indie folk and folk-rock trio Annie Oakley. We really like the beautiful first single ‘Pomp and Swell’. If you like the Wailling Jenny’s, you could like these ladies as well.
Big thanks to our friends at At The Helm PR in Brighton for the recommendation
In the works for three years, the album follows the all-girl band from youth to womanhood through songs with remarkable artistic range. Immaculate, perfectly-matched vocal harmonies and sharply observant lyrics embody themes of grief, recovery, wistful regrets, misplaced hopes, and new love in this much-anticipated release.
The award-winning band is fronted by twin sisters Sophia and Grace Babb on rhythm and lead guitars and vocals, with Nia Personette on violin and third-part harmony. Singing together since childhood, Sophia and Grace were given guitars and started songwriting at their mum’s urging after their father’s death compelled them to find an emotional outlet. They were 14 years old. A year later, they were joined by friend Nia on violin, herself no stranger to loss; she, too, had lost her father shortly before joining the band. Since the band’s formation, wise, emotive lyrics and sophisticated instrumentation have been hallmarks of their style.
Lyrics and music are written by these sisters who begin on their own, but afterward bring their work to each other for suggestions and to orchestrate instrumentation. “We tell stories that are quite personal,” says Sophia. “People who come out to hear us live will hear songs that cut to the bone because they come out of real-life events and relationships.” Examples are “Ghost” written by Sophia from the experience of living with a grief-stricken mother, and “Into the Light,” which Grace wrote about enduring love. “I felt an overwhelming sense of love for someone I’d only known for a short time,” Grace explained, “but I knew the feeling was potent. I wrote it one night while full of feelings, thinking about my parents and what they must have felt.”
The chemistry among this trio who have grown up together is tangible, their music an intimate invitation into an inner circle that makes live shows feel like a reunion of friends and family. “You’re hopefully going to leave having laughed a lot, been provoked more than once, and maybe having shed a tear or two,” Grace says.
Official showcase artists at SWRFA and Folk Alliance International in 2017, the trio tours on weekends and college breaks. University seniors who plan to tour full-time in 2019-20, Annie Oakley plays regularly to sold-out venues throughout the United States.
Photo Credit: Madi Jones