New Release – Resist (EP) by The Missed Trees
The Missed Trees are an alt-folk duo from Birmingham (UK) consisting of singer-songwriter/guitarist Joe Peacock and singer/fiddle player Louisa Davies-Foley. Their music blends Louisa’s background in traditional music with Joe’s more alternative roots and they’ve been gigging in and around Birmingham for just over a year.
Their new EP ‘Resist’ is out 28th September. A pre-save is available.
What does the EP’s title reveal?
Joe: “There’s definitely a message in there! I didn’t want to be too cryptic with this one, as the songs are pretty clear in their messages. When people are doing bad things, we have to take a stand and not just let them happen – whether that’s politicians, the police, or foreign dictators.”
What’s the most accessible song on the EP?
Joe: “I think it’s probably ‘Little Boats’, as it’s all in English and doesn’t last for over 6 minutes! I think all three songs have great melodies and hooks, but that’s more likely to fit most people’s idea of a single.”
Louisa: “I don’t think we should downplay the other songs. For me ‘Guilty Bystanders’ is a particularly powerful song and should resonate with the audience who are interested in stories that tie in with the Black Lives Matter movement and how that played out in the past. Plenty of bands have had big hits with long songs and it’s great to play live, too.”
Is there a song on the EP you’re nervous about releasing out to the world?
Joe: “Should there be? Do you really think Putin will be bothered by a duo from Birmingham poking fun at him? Oh, right – what’s the best protection from Novichok?”
What message do you hope your music sends to listeners? What do you hope they can take away from your songs?
Joe: “For me, I hope that they feel it’s always better to do something and to stand in solidarity than to just resign yourself to bad things happening. I know it’s not easy to stand with the persecuted and stand up to the powerful, but someone has to! Expecting the will of the decent but silent people to prevail never works.”
Louisa: “There’s that quote people always use by Edmund Burke about evil triumphing when good men do nothing, but obviously women can and should do things to resist too, as Olive Morris and many other inspirational women throughout history have! Joe and I were both brought up by strong politically active mothers.”
What movie should feature your music and why?
Joe: “We had a song that should have been in the Gorillas in the Mist soundtrack on the last EP and the second song on this one was inspired by reading about a short film that was made of the life of Olive Morris – or the incident that is described in ‘Guilty Bystanders’. I haven’t approached them, as it was a bit late for that.”
Louisa: “Art can inspire art, so I think it’s great that we have songs about events that have been depicted in films. Maybe someday we’ll be commissioned to write and perform a song for a film. That would be great.”
