Wakefield’s underground heroine Louise Distras is at her best on new album ‘Beauty After Bruises’.
Out now, the new project follows her exemplary ‘Dreams From The Factory Floor’ debut, one that sparked word of mouth hype. It’s all change for the songwriter, however; as she notes, this time round she’s looking inward, and used a change in location to achieve her goals.
As Louise Distras puts it: “I’m looking inwards. I’m saying, ‘Well, the way I see the world is actually because of the way that I see myself. I pulled the wool over my eyes for a long time, because I was still carrying bricks from my past. And if I carried them any longer, I would have been building the same house. So I had to get out of my own way.”
New album ‘Beauty After Bruises’ was constructed in San Francisco, with the songwriter hunting for the ghosts of the Beat Generation. Working with producer Ross Peterson at 25th Street Studios, guests include Style Council’s own Mick Talbot on keys, and revered session musician Gunnar Olsen (Bruce Springsteen, Miley Cyrus) on drums.
Mixing it up, Louise stays true to her punk roots – album highlight ‘Black Skies’ features Crass legend Steve Ignorant.
”I’ve just always tried to write good songs that come straight from the heart, and songs that I want to hear,” she explains. “I was brought up on groups like the Bee Gees, Queen, ABBA and ELO. The thing I love the most about pop music is that there’s no stage big enough for it. So it doesn’t matter where I sing these songs, or even who hears me, as long as the people are welcome. From the start that’s always
been my philosophy.”
Out now, ‘Beauty After Bruises’ is a hugely endearing return from a massive talent – tune in now.
