The Orielles are an experimental, progressive indie-rock trio from Halifax.
Sidonie ‘Sid’ B. Hand-Halford – drums
Esmé Dee Hand-Halford – bass and vocals
Henry Carlyle Wade – guitar and vocals
The band began making music together in 2013 when Sid, Esmé and Henry were, incredibly, still in their early teens.
Initially a loose-fitting indie pop outfit, the talented trio put out a series of promising and articulate singles, before weaving their way into the mainstream conversation with their eye-popping 2018 debut album Silver Dollar Moment.
Full of jaunty effervescence and dreamy phaser-melodies, it instantly drew comparison with the likes of Orange Juice and Stereolab. The album notably spawned the hit single, Sunflower Seeds, a squelchy, jangly slice of two-step psychedelic pop that soundtracked the summer of 2019 and further elevated their profile.
The Orielles’ second album, Disco Volador, trod a similar path, albeit with sturdier boots. The trademark swooshing guitars remained prevalent, but were accompanied by a galaxy of new, rich instrumentation and clear signs of a more freeform, jazzy approach to rhythm. Assured, striding and deliberate, Disco Volador shifted the widespread perception of The Orielles’. They’d quickly gone from indie-pop aficionados to serious, considered musicians.
For their next full-length outing, The Orielles reworked material from Disco Volador into a continuous experimental film score. The result, La Vita Olistica, showed the band in confident mood and evolving fast. It was, therefore, no surprise to see 2022’s Tableau full of, well, surprises.
With their sound maturing, Tableau captured the band experimenting with new time signatures and more complex, layered arrangements. While very much exploring unchartered waters, Tableau utilises the same luscious space-rock vibe that has run like a vein throughout the band’s catalogue to date, but the production is far advanced; the ideas more unusual. There’s just altogether a whole lot more ‘feeling’ in Tableau.
The Orielles have always been a band in perpetual motion, groping their way to the edges of alien experience. And while they’re still breaching new ground, their future will remain goddam exciting.
Support the artist
Follow The Orielles on Instagram and listen to tracks on bandcamp.