09.24.2014 — “Carriages” by Tiny Ruins

Hollie Fullbrook (Tiny Ruins)

If you only listen to one song tonight, make it “Carriages” by Tiny Ruins (2014, from the album Brightly Painted One).

Tiny Ruins is an indie-folk outfit based in Aukland, New Zealand. The band is also the stage name of Hollie Fullbrook, who was born in Bristol, England in 1985. She learned to play cello at a young age, and her family moved from England to New Zealand when she was 10. She taught herself to play guitar and has been making music under the Tiny Ruins moniker since about 2007. Brightly Painted One is the second album, following the 2011 album Some Were Meant for Sea.

Tiny Ruins has shared stages with such impressive company as Joanna Newsome, Beach House, Fleet Foxes, Father John Misty, and Calexico. This autumn, Tiny Ruins will add to that list by going on a North American tour as the support for Sharon Van Etten.

I had never heard of Tiny Ruins until I purchased my Sharon Van Etten tickets the other day, and although I can’t find the link, I read an article somewhere in which Sharon Van Etten was absolutely raving about Tiny Ruins. When I gave a listen for myself, I was almost instantly reminded of Angel Olsen.

As you might be able to guess, anything that has Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen as reference points is pretty much right up my alley. Tonight’s song is a great example of why those reference points are appropriate.

“Carriages” by Tiny Ruins

There’s some delicate guitar work and Fullbrook’s vocals are soft and lovely. Right in the middle of the song, in the bridge to the third verse, there’s a section of “wooooooo-ooo-ooo-ooooh” stuff that knocked me out the first time I heard it. And the more I listen to it, the more I like it.

There’s an official video for the song, but it’s really, really weird. I don’t even want to provide a link, let alone embed the video here. You know how to use YouTube. Find it yourself if you’re so inclined. Instead of the “official video”, I’ll encourage you to watch this live performance of the song:

The physical copies of this album are almost prohibitively expensive, but you can purchase a legal download from Amazon here, or eMusic here. I highly recommend getting this record.

If you live in North America, you should also buy tickets for the SVE/Tiny Ruins show for when it passes through your town.