aaamusic | On 10, Oct 2011

New video: Mint Julep
‘Days Gone By

“Beautifully layered, melodically sophisticated dream-pop” NME
“Entrancing” The Line of Best Fit
Based in Portland, Oregon, Keith and Hollie Kenniff are the husband-and-wife team behind the sublime Mint Julep. ‘Save Your Season’ – the debut UK album will be released on November 21st through the newly launched independent label Village Green.

Mint Julep make lustrous modern pop, which is wistful and mellifluous yet simultaneously powerful. ‘Save Your Season’ is hallmarked by Hollie’s seductive, dreamy vocals and soaring melodies, all of which etched by Keith’s vivid keyboards and distorted guitars.

Opening track ‘Chasing the Wind Catching The Shadows’ offers listeners an enticing taster of the sweeping harmonies, delicate vocals and luminous melodies which appear throughout ‘Save Your Season’. The LP then sweeps you into the hazy romanticism of ‘Aviary’ and the soft propulsion of forthcoming single ‘Days Gone By’ – due November 7th.

Keith Kenniff is an honours graduate of Boston’s esteemed Berklee College of Music, he’s best known as the brains behind dulcet ambient/electronic practitioners Helios and piano minimalists Goldmund (the latter’s music once described by no less an authority than Ryuichi Sakamoto as “so beautiful”). Keith has also composed music for film and television including Harmony Korine’s 2007 Mister Lonely and the trailer for Sam Mendes’ Academy-nominated Revolutionary Road.

Mint Julep was designed as a conscious departure from Keith’s previous projects: “When Hollie and I set out to do something, I wanted to find some way to incorporate her vocals into a slightly different style, rather than just write similar material to my solo work and lay her vocals over top”, he says. “I had the need to write something that had some distorted guitars, loud drums and was a little bolder than what I had previously done. We messed around with a track one night (which became ‘Stay’) and it was a fun process, so we just kept writing more songs so we could do a project together.”

Village Green is a new independent record label founded by Mark Kirby, the former Peacefrog A&R responsible for signing amongst others, Jose Gonzalez, Little Dragon and Nouvelle Vague. Mint Julep’s ultra-rare 2008 ‘Songs About Snow’ – previously only available in the US – is also set to get a UK release date in the near future with remixed, remastered and additional tracks.

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