Time and the Bell Unveil New Single From Debut LP

Time & The Bell is the dream pop/indie folk project of Mandy Morgan (NASALROD, GENERAL ELECTRIC) and Allisa Beymer (SUKEY TAWDRY), two longtime friends who have been playing music together for half their lives. Drawing inspiration from the closely interwoven harmonies of the Everly Brothers, the chamber pop experiments of Bjork and the lyrical intimacy of Elliott Smith, their blended voices and visions create songs that are both emotionally engaging and sonically sensuous.

Over ten years in the making, O Solferino has endured many starts and stops along its path to existence and it encapsulates much love, loss, growth and healing. From the illness and death of Mandy's mom to the birth of Allisa's daughter, as well as a house fire that burned down the basement studio (Ghost Town in PDX) where they tracked the bulk of their songs with engineer Dave Pulliam (Celilo, Lamprey, Cabinessence), there was no lack of interruptions. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the fire, but the studio was completely destroyed and the house had to be torn down. It wasn't immediately apparent whether or not Time & The Bell's recordings had been lost to the flames, but after a short time Dave called to say he'd recovered an external hard drive containing all of their songs, miraculously intact. This was one of the few objects to survive the fire and it encompassed nearly 5 years' worth of work.

After some searching, Allisa and Mandy eventually found their way to engineer/producer Adam Lee (Built To Spill, Portugal. The Man, Decemberists), who swiftly aligned with their wavelength and threw himself wholeheartedly into contributing to the collective vision. Tracking was completed at Jackpot!, Halfling Studios, and in Adam's garage over the course of a few years. Many guest musicians lent their talents to songs which range from stripped-down and meditative (the quasi-hymnal, 'No Harm') to intricately lush and orchestral (the 9 min long chamber pop opus, 'Swan Song' which features cello, french horn, harpsichord and an almost 6-foot long lute called a theorbo).

While both women sing, Allisa plays keys, guitar, ukulele and harp and Mandy plays guitar and bass; they extensively collaborate in the fleshing out of each arrangement. The duo trade off songwriting duties on O Solferino - a song attributed to Mandy, one to Allisa, and so forth as the album unfolds. These are songs of heartbreak and forgiveness (the band members were romantically involved many years prior and a few songs deal directly with the transformation of their relationship), songs exploring themes of death and rebirth, longing and release, dreams and remembrance, sacred talismans and primordial contracts, earnest endeavorings toward self love, inner journeys, holy moments, and appreciation of the natural world.

A great deal of time, intention and care went into the making of O Solferino. It opens up to you slowly and rewards repeat listens. If you are willing, this album will wrap you in its cathartic embrace and gently soothe your soul.

Listen to the new single here.

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