Modern Woman, the London-based art-rock band, began as the solo project of songwriter Sophie Harris and has since grown into a full four-piece blending post-punk, folk, and avant-garde influences. This week they released “Dashboard Mary,” the first single from their debut album, “Johnny’s Dreamworld”, out May 1st via One Little Independent. The track unfolds like a film in miniature, as Harris explains, “This is a song that I wanted to write like a film. I wanted to confront the feeling of the ‘morning after’ and the decisions made during that time of exhilaration the night before.”
“A vital theme I’ve always wanted in Modern Woman is the idea of conflicting things, of the tender/harsh, loud/quiet and scrappy/polished. The style of everybody’s playing, drawing from a melting pot of influences, coming together to form something new,” continues Harris.
This ethos informs “Dashboard Mary” and the wider album, defining a sound that is delicate one moment, raw and untamed the next. Layers of violin and saxophone stretch across a foundation of propulsive drums and bass, creating something methodical yet volatile. Harris’ lyrics remain rooted in the female experience; “I find it interesting to explore the rawer side of femininity that is often hidden; girlhood relationships and the complexities of female fixation and obsession.”
“Johnny’s Dreamworld” gathers these ideas into a full-bodied debut, exploring the strange poetry of the everyday while navigating the contradictions of womanhood. From tender introspection to explosive release, the album cements Modern Woman as one of the UK’s most distinctive new voices.
The Fat Angel Sings 