New York’s self-styled ‘lofi jangle dream slacker bedroom pop’ artist JW FRANCIS will be returning to the UK for a series of headline shows this May.
Part of a wider European tour, JW and his live band will be touring in support of his critically acclaimed new album ‘Dream House’, which is out now (via Sunday Best Recordings).
Indie-rock, jangle, slacker, bedroom pop and softly-whirring psych combine to build his ‘Dream House’ – the foundations held in earthy human emotion, with a roof in the clouds. Across 12 quirky, technicolour sonic vignettes, JW Francis showcases every side of his wholesome 3D approach to guitar pop.
Opening double-salvo ‘Going Home To A Party’ and ‘Casino’ highlight his penchant for broad-grinning recourse to simple joy, whilst ‘Dream House’ and ‘Sweet As A Rose’ explore floaty subtleties, and ‘I Wanna Be Your Basketball’ leans into bouncy and surreal playfulness.
When JW isn’t writing songs about his own life or off-kilter imagery, he writes about other people – most notably around February when he writes valentines songs on his fans’ behalf. ‘Dream House’ is in fact built around this collection of glorious tracks written for other people. JW elaborates a little on the premise below:
“Every year, about 6 weeks before Valentine’s Day, I make the following post on social media:
“If you send me the name of your Valentine, and the reason you love them, I’ll write a song for them on your behalf.”
That is how ‘Dream House’ was born, 3 years ago. Over the past three years, I have received over 300 requests from fans to write songs for their loved ones. All of the songs on Dream House come from this project, some of them have been reworked to speak more to the artist’s life, others have remained exactly as they were first written. Ultimately, this is an album about caring for others, and the way we express it.”
Written and recorded at the start of 2021 in NYC, ‘Dream House’ takes cues from The Strokes, with hints of Lou Reed, Mac Demarco or Her’s however the project is still quintessential JW Francis. The blissful melodies and dreamy instrumentation perfectly fit the album’s title.
‘Dream House’ follows the hugely well received ‘WANDERKID’ and ‘We Share a Similar Joy’ in proving that JW is the king of laid-back and effortlessly cool song-making. Released on 27th January, the album is available now on both cream and Green vinyl, as well as CD (pre-order here).
Completing a rapturously received tour of independent record shops in January and February, JW returns to the UK for a fresh run of headline shows as follows:
JW FRANCIS – 2023 UK TOUR DATES
May
Thursday 4th May – London (UK) – Oslo
Friday 5th May – Liverpool (UK) – Jimmy’s
Saturday 6th May – Glasgow (UK) – The Hug & Pint
Sunday 7th May – Edinburgh (UK) – Sneaky Pete’s
Tuesday 9th May – Newcastle (UK) – The Cluny 2
Wednesday 10th May – Leeds (UK) – Hyde Park Book Club
Thursday 11 May – Manchester (UK) – Night And Day
Tickets on sale here: