Elanor Moss details debut album, The Knife, The Needle

Moss is set to release The Knife, The Needle on 21 August via Merge Records. The nine-track collection of songs follows a complex three-year writing period during which Moss found herself adrift from music, with "Sarah Waiting in the Car" arriving today as the first preview.

“‘Sarah Waiting in the Car’ broke an almost year-long drought of writing songs,” Moss explains. “It reignited that spark in me around songwriting, and felt like a breakthrough into something new and intriguing that I wanted to follow. It served as a bit of a guiding light as I re-entered a more consistent relationship with songwriting again; the north star of the album in a way.”

Writing her debut album ultimately saw Moss return to “the music that made me really feel something; the music I wanted to be writing," as she explains. “I spent a lot of time playing the guitar,” she continues. “I borrowed a four-track tape machine and demoed songs on it. I got really into short stories. The plain-spoken truthfulness of story writers like Raymond Carver really appealed to me and inspired me while I waited for the desire to write to come back. I started therapy again, where I was beginning to unpack my understanding of where I come from, how my family history plays out in the things I do and how I love and receive love. Out of the slowness and quiet of those rhythms came these songs.”

The Knife, The Needle was recorded with a new ensemble and producer/engineer Pete Miles. The songs explore the way that relationships between people are transformed, complicated, and troubled by love, with the collection ultimately being described as a "devastating" body of work that shows Moss' patience and vulnerability.

The Knife, The Needle artwork

The Knife, The Needle tracklist

“Fixer”
“Again, My Love”
“Sarah Waiting in the Car”
“Improvisation”
“You Are Coming Home Tonight”
“Secrets of the Universe”
“Clothes in a Hotel Sink”
“Louise”
“The Way That It Feels”