Experimental musician Bridget Hayden, who released the critically acclaimed album Cold Blows the Rain this year, has unveiled a new single, “Our Ship is Ready,” taken from the same recording sessions. This classic folk song, which couldn’t physically fit on the vinyl album, is a deeply personal track that Hayden first heard her mother sing about a decade ago. She was so captivated that she made her mother sing it repeatedly until she learned it herself. The single is also being released alongside a limited edition lino print, made from an original block created by her father, Reg Hayden, in 1984.
The songs that make up Cold Blows the Rain and this new single are wrapped in mist and drizzle, elements that shape the music as much as the instruments, creating a sound that is “as real but ambiguous as the ghosts that linger in the shadows.” Hayden explains that the music captures the atmosphere of the dark valley floor in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, where she lives, adding, “The weather speaks the most eloquently about human loss.” Fans who witnessed Bridget Hayden & The Apparitions’ startling performances at festivals like Green Man, End Of The Road, and Supersonic can now enjoy an accompanying live video for “Our Ship Is Ready.”