London-based songwriter Rozi Plain, one of Lost Map Records’ ace roster of artists, is gearing up to release her third album, Friend, next Monday, May 4. Before then, she’s kindly given us a full play of the record. It’s a gently, deftly-arranged turn through memory and place, which sees Plain enlisting the help of Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor and various members of François & The Atlas Mountains, Babe and This Is The Kit, forging a record of unhurried pace, all the tracks drawing on a singular mood of reflective repose and specked with electric guitar, synth and a rotating cast of voices. "I think it’s mainly about realising that having a hard time about whatever isn’t something you need to get over. You just need to be able to recognise it and find a way to let it live with you," says Plain of album opener ‘Actually’, one of the album’s finest moments, alongside ‘Best Team’, ‘Friend City’ and ‘Jogalong’, previously released on a split 7" with Rachael Dadd, a fellow one-time Bristol resident. Give the album a play above.
Plain has just embarked on a pretty comprehensive tour of the UK to mark the record’s release, playing Manchester last night and Bristol’s Thekla tonight. Other upcoming dates include album launches in York, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London and she’ll be winding up the run with a pair of festival appearances, at Cloudspotting and The Deer Shed. Take a look at her dates in full here and pre-order the record from Lost Map here.
