A tumbled and tossed-around quote says that you “can please some of the people all of the time, please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.” To that, Foley says, “Challenge Accepted,” and presents Crowd Pleaser Pt. 1, the first installment of their debut album. Made up of multi-instrumentalists Ash Wallace and Gabe Everett, Foley has been developing their enchanting and heartfelt take on pop in their native New Zealand. With their sights set on the rest of the world, the duo might pull it off by releasing a collection that brings a spark of joy to everyone.
Made up of previously released singles “Nothing,” “Killing Me Babe,” and “Smooth It Over,” this first half of the album shares a “Lost In The Garden,” a song that Foley tells HollywoodLife is full of experimental sounds aimed at taking listeners on “a bit of a trip.” The album also arrives with new single, “Coffee,” featuring indie pop-jazz maestro Tim Atlas, and a video that feels like one part technicolor daydream and one part exotic electro fantasy. “This song is the most chaotic and energized track on the album,” Foley tells HL. “We wanted to start the experience with something hard-hitting.”
Crowd Pleaser Pt. 1 continues Foley’s success this year. Earlier in February, the band was added to Spotify’s EQUAL Global and AU/NZ playlists. The involvement “means so, so, so much to us, in particular to Ash as a female in music,” they wrote on social media. “This playlist highlights female and non-binary artists and has been a huge mode of discovery for us finding peers in music to relate to and aspire to.”
Fans will be able to relate and aspire to Foley, thanks to their fearlessness when it comes to bearing it all on the track. Crowd Pleaser marks a grittier take, shifting away from the polish and more towards the honest when it comes to music. Ahead of the project’s release on Feb. 24, Foley gives HL an EXCLUSIVE track-by-track rundown. Click here to presave, and be on the look for the “Coffee” video to perk you right up when it also drops this Friday.
“Coffee” ft. Tim Atlas
“This song is the most chaotic and energized track on the album I would say – we wanted to start the experience with something hard-hitting. Tim joined this track absolutely seamlessly, and his harmonies and vibes were just perfection. I think this song encapsulates that feeling sometimes when things aren’t going right, but you take it in your stride and enjoy life anyway.”
Killing Me Babe
“A little bit of a satirical one – this track is one of my favorites lyrically. People are so complicated in that we want to be loved, but once someone loves us, we can almost find it overwhelming or smothering. We delved into that duality and how complex our emotions can be when love is tangled up with self-worth and esteem.”
“Lost In The Garden”
“We really let loose on the production for this one and experimented with a lot of synths we haven’t used before. This song tracks a night out under the influence of something naughty, so we wanted the production to really swirl and unfold in a way that makes you feel a bit of a trip while listening.”
“Nothing”
This session was such a beautiful and vulnerable one for us. It was a pretty heartbreaking song to write because it was the realization that a relationship is one-sided and potentially over. Was amazing to have Gabe singing lead on this one for the first time as well – he bought an intensity to the second verse that carries the story so well – chills!
“Smooth It Over”
We had been sitting on this song for nearly three years waiting for her moment, and thank god it’s here! This was first written with some incredible Swedish writers – Anton Rundberg and Julia Karlsson, who have such a talent for melodies. It’s so full of joy and bounce and a real favorite to play live – so it felt like a great way to wrap the first half of Crowd Pleaser – with a crowd pleaser!