Following a packed out Scottish tour, Pearl and the Puppets will release their debut EP ‘Because I Do’ on 3rd May.
Pearl, AKA Katie Sutherland and her band The Puppets, have been receiving a steady stream of attention over the last year with performances on the BBC Hogmanay show on New Year’s Eve, sets at T in the Park and the Wickerman Festival along with a headline Scottish tour last month; all this before a single release.
Three years ago Pearl was just another music-loving shopgirl and primary school teacher student who was classically trained on woodwind and could bash out a tune on piano. Aged 19, she bought a guitar, taught herself how to play and quickly wrote some songs. Within a matter of months she’d set up a Myspace and posted four demos. Within a week, the first record label contacted her and after signing a publishing deal with Warner Chappell, Pearl decided to abandon her degree at Glasgow University and recruited a band; The Puppets. She signed first to Universal Republic (the US label heard about her and immediately flew over and signed her) and in turn with Island Records in the UK.
The ‘Because I Do’ EP is a collection of feel-good summer folk-pop songs that are instantly loveable. Already featured on the Vodafone advert in Australia and New Zealand, title and lead track ‘Because I Do’ is three breezy minutes of melodic acoustic-pop. The video, shot by Vanessa Casswill, perfectly matches the charming nature of the song with Pearl stuck indoors looking out of a window and echoing the songs theme that you love someone no matter what they’re doing. ‘Girlfriend’, ‘Mango Tree’ and ‘Lower Ground’ are all instantly infectious tunes, airborne by Pearl’s effortless way with a melody and bell-clear, Celtic-tinged vocals. At only 22 years old, it’s hard not to be immediately bowled over by Pearl.
TOUR DATES:
18 Apr Supporting Alphabeat @ Waterfront NORWICH
19 Apr Supporting Alphabeat @ Stylus LEEDS
20 Apr Supporting Alphabeat @ Northumbira Uni NEWCASTLE
22 Apr Supporting Alphabeat @ Picturehouse EDINBURGH
23 Apr Supporting Alphabeat @ o2 ABC GLASGOW
24 Apr Supporting Alphabeat @ Academy 2 MANCHESTER
25 Apr Supporting Alphabeat @ Oxford Academy OXFORD
27 Apr Supporting Alphabeat @ Concorde 2 BRIGHTON
28 Apr Supporting Alphabeat @ Koko LONDON
29 Apr Supporting Alphabeat @ Anson Room BRISTol
23 Jul 2010 Secret Garden Party Festival Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire