{"product_id":"milkteeth","title":"Milkteeth","description":"\u003cp\u003eEnglish songsmith Douglas Dare returns with his third and most stripped back studio album to date, \u003ci\u003eMilkteeth \u003c\/i\u003ewith Erased Tapes. Produced by Mike Lindsay — founding member of Tunng and one half of LUMP with Laura Marling — in his studio in Margate in just twelve days, \u003ci\u003eMilkteeth\u003c\/i\u003e sees Douglas become confident and comfortable enough with his own identity to reflect on both the joys and pains of youth. In doing so, he has established himself as a serious 21st century singer-songwriter with an enduring lyrical poise and elegant minimalist sound.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDouglas Dare grew up on a farm as the youngest member of a large extended family, where he was often found in his own private world, dancing in his mother’s pink ballet dress. “Only now do I feel free to express my inner child again, and am giving myself permission to play dress up,” says Dare of Milkteeth’s cover shot, in which he wears soft makeup and is draped with layers of white linen, acting the part of a Greek muse. “I never felt like I fit in. I was different, odd. I wanted to dance and sing and dress up and on a small farm in rural Dorset that really stuck out.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhere previously he has been known as a piano player, for \u003ci\u003eMilkteeth\u003c\/i\u003e Dare picked up a new instrument, the autoharp, and as soon as he sat down with it, songs poured out – he wrote the album’s first single \u003ci\u003eSilly Games\u003c\/i\u003e, in under an hour. “Instinctual feelings about childhood and innocence were the catalyst,” he explains. “Then with the autoharp, it all just clicked – I could see the album laid out ahead of me.” \u003ci\u003eMilkteeth\u003c\/i\u003e opens with \u003ci\u003eI Am Free\u003c\/i\u003e, which loops piano and lyrics in an intimate dance, comparing the seemingly inexorable freedom of childhood to flying. \u003ci\u003eThe Playground\u003c\/i\u003e is a song Dare says he’s wanted to write for years, about a yearning for childhood innocence and simplicity. While \u003ci\u003eRed Arrows \u003c\/i\u003etells a story of vulnerability, of craving parental comfort, \u003ci\u003eThe Joy In Sarah’s Eyes\u003c\/i\u003e is a Jeff Buckley-esque ballad for a new generation. In \u003ci\u003eHeavenly Bodies\u003c\/i\u003e there is an unhurried darkness that nods to Leonard Cohen’s songwriting, and is also the first time Dare has played the guitar on record. The melodies on \u003ci\u003eMilkteeth\u003c\/i\u003e are deliberately simple; Dare wanted it to feel familiar right from the first listen. In between these songs sit instrumental pieces – \u003ci\u003eThe Piano Room, The Stairwell, The Window\u003c\/i\u003e – named for the spots they were recorded in, moments for stillness and reflection.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDare’s music speaks of his own experiences of universal themes like love, loss, and childhood. Perhaps most importantly, his music gives a voice and a sanctuary to anyone who’s ever felt unusual or out of place. Whether he’s singing of the pain of those in the Magdalene Laundries as on Whelm, describing coming out to his parents on Aforger, or processing his own childhood isolation on \u003ci\u003eMilkteeth\u003c\/i\u003e, Dare has a graceful honesty and an abiding clarity of vision in his simple and distinctive sound.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Erased Tapes","offers":[{"title":"Clear | LP","offer_id":50455225631051,"sku":"1082073","price":23.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50455227793739,"sku":"1082072","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50455223533899,"sku":"1082071","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/49648122-0551-414d-85d9-8e1c346d72f5_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727189501","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/products\/milkteeth","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}