Hudson Taylor will release their new single ‘Weapons’ through Polydor on March 17th. Two brothers from the Dublin suburbs, the duo make mesmeric folk songs with a stripped-down edge. With its stirring chorus and gentle swell of strings, ‘Weapons’ offers further proof that Harry and Alfie are perfecting their intricate, intoxicating sound.
The follow-up to last year’s critically-acclaimed Osea EP, it has a tender stomp and an indelible chorus. ‘Weapons’ was produced by Jake Bugg collaborator Iain Archer, with whom the band are currently working on their debut album. “We’re really coming into our own,” says Harry. “We’ve been recording some great stuff and we know where we want to go with it.”
The band spent a large chunk of 2013 on the road, taking in support tours with Jake Bugg and Kodaline as well as a prestigious slot on the main stage at the Rolling Stones’ Hyde Park show, where they were chosen to fill in at the last minute for Tom Odell. In the past 12 months alone, they have played to over 200,000 people. They also made appearances at Glastonbury, Bestival and Cambridge Folk Festival. “We want to be known as a live band,” they explain, “we plan on touring constantly… forever.” Before October’s Osea EP, for which the duo worked with Florence And The Machine and Ed Sheeran collaborator Charlie Hugall and Grammy Award-winning producer Mike Einziger, they had put out two self-released EPs, Cinematic Lifestyle and Battles. Their EPs have sold in excess of 20,000 copies.
Word of mouth has spread about Hudson Taylor and they have amassed a huge underground following that is on the verge of breaking big: they’ve had over three million Youtube views and daytime Radio One play whilst Zane Lowe made their track Second Best his Next Hype pick, describing them as “classic songwriting”. They are currently hard at work on their debut album with Archer and Einziger. “We want to be able to look back in a few years time and be proud of our songs,” says Alfie. ‘Weapons’ is the first statement of intent in a year that you’ll be hearing a lot more from Hudson Taylor.
Listen to ‘Weapons’ here:
