The Wandering Hearts are a UK trio known for their collection of riveting folk-Americana tunes. Ever since they released their debut record, Wild Silence, back in 2018, The Wandering Hearts have gained fans across the world, played numerous shows and earned comparisons to the likes of First Aid Kit and Fleetwood Mac. Not only this, the trio have won awards and performed alongside Robert Plant, Mumford & Sons and Imelda May.
Now, The Wandering Hearts are back with their third studio record, a self-titled LP which is out July 30th. House Of Solo Magazine caught up with The Wandering Hearts to discuss the new album, recording in Johnny Cash’s ‘Cash Cabin’ and touring.
Hello Tara, Chess and AJ, thanks for speaking with House Of Solo Magazine. How are you all doing? Your new self-titled album is out today, you must all be so excited about it?
Hey! Thanks for having us. We are all good, hanging in there and just so excited for our album! It’s been a long time coming as we finished it early last year, just before the pandemic shut everything down. We recorded it in the snowy Catskill Mountains, NY with the incredible Simone Felice and David Baron. Working in such a magical setting with producers we really trusted, we captured something we could only have dreamed of. We can’t wait for it to be out in the world.
This will be your second LP, what new challenges did you face and overcome when penning the record?
It feels like we overcame quite a lot in the build-up to making the record so the actual making of it was so easy and straightforward. There will always be bumps in the road and things to overcome and we channelled a lot of that into our songwriting. If anything, that made us more determined to make a record that has a positive message overall, and one we are all so proud of. The album feels so true to who we are now.
‘Dreams’ is an enthralling country track which is taken from the new album, you all met up with Marty Stuart (a five-time Grammy Award winner and a former member of Johnny Cash’s Band) in Nashville. What was it like working with him and his wife, Connie Smith, on this single?
Ha, it’s not something any of us ever thought we’d be talking about!! Marty has become such a wonderful friend and mentor of ours and it just feels like it has come full circle to have him feature on our album. Marty and Connie are two of the kindest hearted people we have ever met and we’ll forever be pinching ourselves that we get to call them friends.
You recorded ‘Dreams’ at the iconic Cash Cabin in Hendersonville, Tennessee, a cabin which was built by Johnny Cash himself. The whole experience must have been amazing…
It’s really hard to put into words. It was almost like Johnny Cash had just popped out whilst we were there. You can feel the vibrations in the walls. The history of the place is everywhere so it’s impossible to not get lost in that world. To have Marty there with us, telling us stories of what they used to get up to and telling us the history of the place, was as close to having Johnny Cash there himself as we will ever get.
Alongside ‘Dreams’, you’ve also released the following singles from the forthcoming record: ‘Dolores’, ‘Gold’ and ‘Over Your Body’. But are there any unreleased tracks that you are excited for fans to hear?
All of them!!! They’ve been so patient we just want them to hear the album in its entirety. But if we have to choose one, it would be Never Too Late. We hope it is going to be a song that people will connect with, given the year or so we have all had. It’s uplifting and hopeful and it’s what we needed to hear when we wrote it. We hope it does the same for everyone who listens.
This is a tough one to answer, but who would you say your top favourite artists and bands are of all time?
That’s not tough at all! Between us, we love to listen to John Prine, Simon & Garfunkel, Ella Fitzgerald, Tom Petty, Queen, Carole King, Elvis, The Beatles, Led Zep… and that’s just what we’re feeling today!
As you’ve done a lot of touring in the states, would you say that country music is potentially more popular over in the US compared to here in the UK?
It certainly has grown tons in popularity here in the UK in recent years which is really interesting but its true home will always be the US.
Can you please tell us one fun fact about yourselves that your fans might not know?
We love food. If we’re not talking about music, we’re talking about food. There’s not much we won’t eat, so we’re pretty good dinner guests. Just sayin….
We need to talk about your massive UK tour which starts on August 21st, do you have anything exciting in store for the shows?
Ahhhhhh, it’s gonna feel so incredible to play gigs again. Pre-Covid, we were mad busy making the album and playing shows, so we saw each other every day but this past year, we’ve hardly seen each other at all, so this tour is going to be an emotional one. We’ll be playing all the new album tracks for the first time and it’s gonna be epic! We cannot wait to see, hear and feel the response from the fans!
Finally, What’s next for The Wandering Hearts?
More of everything!!! Writing, playing and singing have been key to getting through this past year. As soon as we can, we’ll be on the road and seeing as many people as possible. After we finish our ‘In Harmony’ UK tour, we’re keeping fingers firmly crossed we get out to the States to pick up where we left off. We can’t wait.
Listen to the album here
