The Loyal Seas – the creative partnership of Tanya Donelly (Belly, Throwing Muses, The Breeders) and Brian Sullivan (Dylan in the Movies) – has swelled from covers, and a split single to a debut album with the release of Strange Mornings In The Garden available May 20 through American Laundromat Records.
The single “(So Far From) Silverlake” is available today on most streaming platforms, as is the official video directed by Orrin Anderson (Kristin Hersh, Throwing Muses, 50 Foot Wave and +/-) on YouTube. The album is currently available for PRE-ORDER.
Donelly and Sullivan first met in the mid ’90s at Fort Apache Studios, the famed New England recording studio that has produced legions of beloved albums. “Tanya is one of my favorite singers,” explains Brian. “Her voice is an instrument and sounds like an angel – or what I think an angel would sound like. And she’s a poet; her words and stories slay me. It’s always a thrill to hear what she comes up with.”
They were friends almost instantly and have collaborated over the years. “I am and always have been a huge fan of Brian’s songwriting and cello-like voice. I contributed to a couple of Dylan in the Movies songs and we had collaborated on a song for my Swan Song Series,” recalls Donelly. They also appear on two of American Laundromat’s most popular tribute compilations: a sparkling cover of “The Lovecats” for Just Like Heaven: A Tribute to The Cure (2009), where Donelly’s honeyed rasp is brightened by the contrast of Sullivan’s lower-register growls; and their take on “Shoplifters of the World Unite,” from Please, Please, Please: A Tribute to the Smiths (2011), glimmers with melancholic wonder, Donelly’s silken lead vocals textured by an orchestral scythe and Sullivan’s backing anchor.
These collaborations led to a formal partnership on a whim. “Brian was over my house, playing this beautiful piece he’d written on piano and I called dibs on it. It grew from there.”
Brian confirms, “I think Tanya said, ‘Can I have that? It was at that moment I blurted out, ‘Let’s make an album together!’”
That song became “Last of the Great Machines” – the seed that germinated into their dynamic debut split single, “Strange Mornings in the Garden” b/w “Last of the Great Machines,” released in December 2020 as a label exclusive that sold-out instantly. Each side was an individualistic statement showcasing a particular side of the pair’s personality. One a luxuriant, sweeping ballad, and the other tightly-knit, kinetic alt-pop.
To solidify this new partnership, the duo needed a name. “Band names are tricky. We came up with some interesting ones,” recalls Brian. “Our relationship is very ‘brother and sister’ – that’s where the ‘loyal’ part comes in. To me, family means loyalty.” Adds Tanya, “Brian’s anam cara to me, a soul friend. We are also ocean animals, that had to be in there somewhere.”
And so, the Loyal Seas bloomed. The group’s full-length debut Strange Mornings In the Garden will be released on May 20, 2022.
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