The Orielles have today shared “Tears Are”, the latest track to be taken from their 4th studio album, Only You Left, a meticulous yet exploratory record which sees them emerge anew from their 7-year cycle where they began with Silver Dollar Moment (2018). Recorded between Hamburg and the car-free Greek Island of Hydra, and produced by long-time collaborator, Joel Anthony Patchett, the album is out on March 13 via Heavenly Recordings.
The title of “Tears Are” is an unanswered question, a half-phrase, according to Esmé: “You could think of something deeply human. But you could also answer it in a completely linguistic sense and think of a tear as a symbol or an image.” The lyrical uncertainty is mirrored in the music: initially catchy and anthemic, the track gradually dissolves towards the end, culminating in a darker take on the original motif.
“ We had this vague imagery of wood versus metal,” says Esmé. “Hamburg was metal and Hydra was wood. Everything fell naturally into either category.” Her lyrics are a similar exploration of paradoxes, inversions and wordplay, left ambiguous for the listener to make their own interpretations.
The Manchester based 3-piece consisting of Esmé Dee Hand-Halford (bass & vocals), Sidonie Dee Hand-Halford (drums & vocals) and Henry Carlyle Wade (guitar & vocals) have released previous single “Three Halves“ and double-single “You are Eating a Part of Yourself” / “To Undo the World Itself“.
“You’ve got to die and be reborn between albums,” begins Henry Wade, guitarist for The Orielles, describing the foundations of the band’s fourth studio album, Only You Left. “It comes naturally,” adds singer and bassist Esmé Hand-Halford,“it’s not something we consciously do.” 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.”
According to Henry, the first ideas for Only You Left came in May 2023. Esmé had bought a freeze pedal, which allowed her to play around with sustained notes on her guitar – these heavy drones would later form the basis for the tracks “Wasp” and “Three Halves”. In the lulls between touring, the band began to meet up and record their practice room sessions, later analyzing the voice notes to the finest detail.
“We recorded everything on our phones, every snippet,” explains Henry. “We went so deep into what each song needed or what we wanted to hear from it.”
Whereas the process of Tableau was semi-improvisational and part-written in the recording studio, Only You Left was fleshed out through a series of intense writing sessions dating from May 2023 to the summer of 2024. Each song was refined meticulously and became its own distinctive work. “It almost felt really novel for us to be writing as a three-piece and really, really crafting these songs,” remarks Esmé.“But Tableau gave us that confidence to know we could go into a studio and pull things together in that setting under the time pressure.”
The band have been collaborating closely with producer and engineer Joel Anthony Patchett – whom Esme dubs the honorary fourth member of the band – since Silver Dollar Moment. His influence on Only You Left is apparent: “Joel brings an extra level of interpretation and deep listening,” says Henry, “and it’s always exciting to explore that.”
“He’s constantly talking us through every step of what he’s doing and getting us really, really involved with that process as well,” adds Sidonie. “And we’re just kind of learning together and making these mistakes and discovering things together.”
The album artwork (below) features a specially commissioned triptych built by Louie Morris, continuing the themes within “Three Halves”. The band describes the process of its creation: “Building the album artwork as a physical object, a sculptural form to photograph, made on hinged wooden board and constructed to look like a modernized replica of the 14th century originals, we hope that our triptych will continue to wear and decay, and as we keep it, highlight imperfections and passing of time.”
Thoughts Words Action 