Back in May, the Alabama-raised sister duo of Allison and Catherine Pierce were confirmed to make their debut appearance in Australia, opening the stage for Coldplay on their east coast stadium tour in November. Chugg Entertainment are pleased to confirm that in addition to these dates, the songbird sister-act will be playing their own headline shows in Melbourne on Wednesday 14th November at Northcote Social Club and Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory on Tuesday 20th November.
Despite there being all manner of comparisons being thrown around; from a country-folk version of Agnetha and Anni-Frid, or a noughties take on Heart, it is clear to say that The Pierces are developing a sound all of their own. A sultry mix of jangling guitars, which channel the LA valley spirit of the late 60s, layered on top of the girls’ lustrous vocal harmonies and beautifully executed melodies that seamlessly melt into one another.
Before the release of their 2012 album You & I (Universal), the sisters had already made three albums together. Critical acclaim had never been hard to come by, but after their 2007 album Thirteen Tales Of Love And Revenge struggled to find a wider audience, Allison and Catherine decided that perhaps their future in music lay separately. “There was definitely a conversation,” recalls Catherine, “where it just seemed to us that maybe we had taken it as far as we could We’d had some good times along the way, but at the moment in time, it felt like it wasn’t to be.”
What a difference a day can make. Less than 24 hours after deciding to draw a line under The Pierces, fate stepped forward – in the unlikely guise of Guy Berryman, bassist with Coldplay and longtime admirer of the group. “If you’ve been to New York enough times, you quickly realise that the musical scene there is quite tight,” says Berryman. “You get to know everyone. I knew Albert Hammond Jr [of The Strokes] who, at that time was engaged with Catherine. I had always loved The Pierces’ songs, so when she told me they had just split the group, I felt I had to do something.”
It was not long after this that Berryman and fellow producer Rik Simpson teamed up with the sisters in London to begin work on You & I; an album that grabs you in the first few bars of its first track, and doesn’t let go. The swirling harmonic currents met by dreamy folk-pop hooks and heart felt lyrics have seen the huge success of this album, having sold over 150,000 copies in the UK alone. Praised by The Times for their “honeyed harmonies and huge pop hooks,” at the heart of You & I, are the core components of a musical bond that has lasted a lifetime. Home-schooled by “free-thinking” parents, Allison and Catherine – the latter being the younger by two years – grew up in an environment where “Simon & Garfunkel mattered way more than getting the hang of long division.” If it’s a source of amusement that, at the end of 2010, one newspaper singled them out as one of the most promising new bands of 2011, it also retrenches a feeling that this is a new start.
Don’t miss out on seeing this remarkable duo.
TICKETS FOR ALL SHOWS GO ON SALE MONDAY 8TH OCTOBER, 9am
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THE PIERCES : TOUR DATES
Wednesday 14th November Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
www.northcotesocialclub.com 1300 724 867
Tuesday 20th November Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
www.moshtix.com.au 1300 348 849
ALSO PERFORMING WITH COLDPLAY ON ALL AUSTRALIAN DATES
