The masterminds behind Quiet Houses are Edinburgh-bred Jamie Stewart and Hannah Elliott. Their unique and signature sound is a contemporary take on dreamy indie pop – a sound that has received a warm reception from fans and critics alike. The reaction to their already released material support this. Their debut EP ‘Big Town’ was supported by singles ‘B-List’ (BBC Radio Scotland track of the week) and ‘Cold Water Swimming’ featured in Spotify’s ‘The Most Beautiful Songs In The World.’ Sold out launch parties were to follow at Sneaky Pete’s (Edinburgh) and Gullivers NQ (Manchester).
Their latest single ‘Hot and Clumsy’ (taken from their upcoming EP ‘Since July’) is an infectious new release by the duo. The track features a colourful melting pot of danceable percussion, chorus-soaked guitars and angelic lead vocals. ‘Hot and Clumsy’ deals with the youthful emotions parties and attractions and comes wrapped up in a soundscape that isn’t defined by genre boundaries.
Speaking about the track, they say: “‘Hot and Clumsy’ is about the nervous excitement of being young and liking someone at a party. The song celebrates the awkwardness of being vulnerable with someone, it embraces the moments we are all embarrassed about.
“Around the time we started writing the song I was learning lots of math-rock style riffs. I had a few riffs of my own but didn’t feel they would work in our music until I paired one of them with the drum loop that plays throughout Hot and Clumsy. The loop comes from this drum machine app called FunkBox which I read about in an Aaron Dessner interview. I took this idea to Hannah and we wrote the rest of the tune that week.
“We loved the awkward energy of the music and wrote the lyrics around that. The song is about the nervous excitement of being young and liking someone at a party. We wanted it to celebrate the awkwardness of being vulnerable with someone, and embrace the moments we are all embarrassed about.”
In their upcoming follow-up EP ‘Since July’, Quiet Houses look back on formative memories of growing up together in Edinburgh. Written during a transitional period in the duo’s life after leaving university, the songs are hyper-romanticised vignettes depicting devastating and beautiful scenes from early adulthood. Inspired by artists such as Phoebe Bridgers, Adrianne Lenker, Babygirl and Gracie Abrams, Quiet Houses fuse indie-folk textures with lush pop production.
