Fig by Four share debut album “Capture Reveal”

Capture Reveal, the long-awaited debut album by Fig by Four, aka multi-instrumentalist Sarah Statham, is at the same time an open and welcoming invitation and a statement of strong intent. The bold and rich tapestry of purpose, in the form of ten varied but cohesive alternative rock/indie/folk-infused tracks, comes from an artist who’s spent fifteen years in Leeds making a name for herself locally, nationally and further afield. Known for her celebrated appearances in a number of bands, as a session musician, music educator and engineer. From being the touring drummer in Living Body to the bassist and backing vocalist of Crake (Saddle Creek/Fika Recordings) and making notable sequential appearances with the likes of Big Thief and The Cribs, Sarah is rich with experience and stories to tell. Resulting in a record which truly feels like a world unto itself from start to end.

With a time span of 38 minutes, geographically the songs take place in a triangulation of locations. Principally, her home city, Leeds (Lifejackal, 3539, All Seeing A), and reaching further afield to the depths of the Lake District (Cut, Nil for the Nab). Finally it’s the conversations and interlocutions found in New York City where she’s spent time as a youth music mentor and generally hanging out in Brooklyn inherent within (Ferrules It Is, Is It?) Taking inspiration from the layering of characters, anecdotes and observations Sarah has encountered between these three profoundly influential places. Having studied a Masters in Critical and Cultural Theory at the University of Leeds while making the album, Sarah describes herself being in-situ, with a notebook of seminar highlights and lyrical inspirations inherent in the ruminating prose and active contemplations of philosophical thinkers, political writers and poets such as Gilles Deleuze, Rilke and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. With proverbial shades of rigour at its core, Capture Reveal is anything but an intellectual album on the surface. Its immediate impact is more impulsive than cognitive. Therein lies the appeal. Its combination of colourful melody, dynamic rhythms and rapturous, relatable lyricism, creates alluring scope for people’s potential to find an affinity and attachment to the record. And Fig likes it this way. Always passionate to connect with others and journey with authenticity and a intuitively led with a full heart, the commitment to her craft is unwavering. Every aspect of Sarah’s own tale thus far is one of mattering and unfolding. Embodying a unique way of finding energy and influence in all who cross paths with whatever she’s up to, now is the time for an artist with a well earned reputation for due care and consideration, to step out by herself. In a moment she, and those familiar with her, have waited for.

Tracklisting:

1. Otherwirldly

2. Plunge

3. All Seeing A

4. Cut

5. 3539

6. It Is, Is It?

7. Ferrules

8. Lifejackal

9. Mea Culpa

10. Nil for the Nab

Credits:

Written and performed by Sarah Statham / Fig by Four

Produced / engineered by Lee Smith and Rob Slater at Greenmount Studios

Mastered by Sarah Register

Photos by Andie Mills // Album artwork by Emma Saynor