Premiere: Stuart McLamb of The Love Language Shares Debut Single as Fancy Gap
Watch the video for “How To Dance” below, out now via Ghost Choir Records
01 April 2024
Photo: Jillian Clark
Raleigh-based singer/songwriter Stuart McLamb spent the 2010s creating expansive and cinematic indie pop with his band The Love Language, returning most recently with their 2018 album. Baby Grand. Today, McLamb returns with news of his latest outfit, Fancy Gap, a collaboration with songwriter and producer Charles Crossingham, named after the small Virginia location where the pair wrote most of their upcoming album. The record was originally intended as a new Love Language album, but McLamb and Crossingham quickly saw it evolve in a different direction, echoing artists such as Wilco, Fleet Foxes or Sheryl Crow.
Today, the band shares their first taste of this new direction with their single, “How To Dance,” along with an accompanying video, premiering with Under the Radar.
“How to Dance” plays like rediscovering a treasure trove of well-worn classic CDs, with the band drawing on a range of classic rock and pop influences and shading them with country guitar notes. McLamb and Crossingham combine strong guitar lines and a heartfelt vocal performance, leaving the track with a delightful and sunny charm. Meanwhile, the song also features Rami Jafee (Foo Fighters, The Wallflowers) on organ and Wurlitzer, and Will McFarlane (Bonnie Raitt, The Mountain Goats, Etta James) on guitar, the latter of whom closes out the track with an impressive guitar solo. .
McLamb says of the track, “'How To Dance' was one of the first songs Charles and I wrote together. We sat down and mapped out about 90% of it in about 30 minutes—lyrics, arrangement and all. Vocals, guitars and bass were all pretty much first. Charles helped perfect the arrangement and had the great idea to get Rami and Will on the track, who really made the whole thing feel alive,” explains McLamb. “A lot of people ask, 'how did you get a Foo Fighter on your track?'” Legend has it that Charles was working in a guitar store many years ago and Rami came over while he was on tour with the Wallflowers. Charles ended up jamming with him. and told him 'one day I'll have a record worth playing on and I'll beat you up.' Of course, Rami kept his word. We like to joke that he's in the band and he kind of plays along. We connected with Will while we were in Muscle Shoals finishing the song with Craig Alvin. Without exaggeration, his outro is one of our favorite guitar solos of all time.”
Check out the song and animated visualizer below. “How To Dance” is out now via Ghost Choir Records. The band also makes their own Live debut April 6 at The Sandspur in Carolina Beach, NC, followed by a pair of shows next month opening for Futurebirds and Dent May. Check out the band's live dates below.
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04/06 – Carolina Beach, NC @ The Sandspur
05/01 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle*
07/05 – Raleigh, NC @ The Pour House^
* Futurebirds support
^ supporting Dent May
from our partners at http://www.undertheradarmag.com/news/premiere_stuart_mclamb_of_the_love_language_shares_debut_single_as_fancy_ga
