Here’s a new release not on Sonic Cathedral that I’ve been listening to a lot. It’s the new one by The Orielles, which would have been a double A-side single in old money. Conveniently, both tracks feature on the video below. It’s understated and experimental and equal parts beautiful and unnerving. You could even call it Lynchian. Through this process of creative renewal, the Manchester-based trio – completed by drummer Sidonie Hand-Halford – have managed to weather a pandemic, defy the fickleness of a trend-led music industry, and emerge, phoenix-like, with something familiarly Orielles, yet altogether different.
Recorded in two locations – Hydra and Hamburg – over the summer of 2024, the 11 tracks of “Only You Left” sees the band consolidate the bold experimentation of their previous LP, “Tableau” (2022), with a return to the more stripped-back, song-led approach of their early origins.
“There’s nothing more trad than a three-piece,” quips Henry, in reference to the band’s decision to return to their roots as a trio. Originally from Halifax, the Orielles first came to recognition in 2018 with their debut album, the indie-rock “Silver Dollar Moment“, which is approaching its eighth birthday in February 2026. “These things come in like seven year cycles. So we’ve come in like a full circle back to a familiar place, just as different people.”
By exploring binaries and contrasts, the Orielles are finding shapes in the chaos and confusion of the world around us – it’s an undertaking that benefits from more than 15 years of close collaboration, driven by friendship and the artistic compulsion to find meaning in music
Henry Carlyle Wade – Guitar, Synth Esme Dee Hand-Halford – Bass, Vocals, Guitar, Organ Sidonie B Hand-Halford – Drums, Percussion, Guitar, Organ Joel Anthony Patchett – Piano
Written by Henry Carlyle Wade, Esmé Dee Hand-Halford, and Sidonie B Hand-Halford.
The Fat Angel Sings 