What's It All About?

I've been following deary with interest since they emerged with their debut single Fairground in 2023.

A duo of Rebecca 'Dottie' Cockram and Ben Easton, they made no secret of their shared influences of My Bloody Valentine, Goldfrapp, Portishead, Saint Etienne (who remixed their debut) and, most significantly, Elizabeth Fraser.

No surprise then that deary's initial releases were recorded at 4AD and Bella Union studios and issued via shoegaze-friendly label Sonic Cathedral. 

With deary expanding to a 3-piece in 2025 with the addition of Harry Catchpole on drums, and focusing on recording a full-length album, they appear to have gone full Cocteau Twins, now signed to Simon Raymonde's Bella Union label and issuing the epic single and video Alfie.

Alfie is seven and a half minutes of shimmering bliss, Dottie's ethereal vocals playing with her and Ben's chiming guitars and Harry's pinpoint percussion in the first half, a brief pause in the middle, then the band letting rip for the final instrumental section. 

Seabird, the preceding single, is equally epic albeit in more compact form, coming in at under five minutes. Both bode well for the album, Birding, which is out on 3rd April but avaialble to pre-order now.

Oh, and I can't use What's It All About? as a post title without giving a nod to Alyson and her wonderful blog of the same name.