Description
Label Review.
2018 album also available in Vinyl.
Our Overview.
For listeners of the innocence mission, the Lancaster, Pennsylvania trio are beyond a favourite band, more like a beloved companion, such is their intensity and fragility of their sound and vision, spearheaded by Karen Peris’ heartbreaking, breathtaking voice. Those fans include Sufjan Stevens and Sam Beam (Iron & Wine), who have both covered innocence mission songs, and in whose company the trio deserve to be bracketed.
Now, with new album Sun On The Square, released 6th July, the trio have signed to Bella Union following Karen’s guest appearance on “Ojalá” by Lost Horizons, the musical collective created by label skipper Simon Raymonde.
“There’s less than a handful of artists on my Bella Union dream list,” he explains. “The Innocence Mission are on there but they’ve remained an elusive mystery, and believe me, I’ve tried! I’ve been a fan as long as I can remember. From the second I heard Karen’s voice, I’ve been smitten. ‘Birds Of My Neighborhood’ (1999), is in my Top Three albums of all time.”
Sufjan Stevens calls the innocence mission “moving and profound”, adding, “What makes Karen Peris’ lyrics so remarkable is the economy of words, sensory language, concrete nouns – everyday objects take on tremendous meaning.” Images of nature, colour, weather, and season are continued throughout the album. “For me it’s helpful to be able to see the song, if I can” Karen says.
To best capture their intimate sound, the band have recorded every album from Birds Of My Neighborhood onward in various rooms of the Peris home, like the dining room where the piano sits. On this record, their teenage son and daughter are guests, adding violin and viola, respectively. They’re a tight-knit family, strengthened by the parents’ choice to stay home through their children’s upbringing, and not to go on tour. The scarcity of innocence mission concerts is perhaps why they have remained something of a well-kept secret.
Love and fear, longing and loss, belief and awe – Sun On The Square is an emotional journey, and destined to find new fans for the band while re-establishing contact with those already in the fold. Either way, prepare to have your heart broken and your breath taken. Tears might fall. You have been warned.