Hampshire Country-Rock duo Ward Thomas are back with their fifth studio album, Music In The Madness and a new tour which brings them to Cardiff this April.
Music In The Madness is both a harmony-soaked balm for shattered souls and an uplifting reminder of what really matters. Love, family, unity and the healing power of music are recurrent themes on an album begun as war broke out in Ukraine and the world went into a post-Covid tailspin.
“In Ukraine in particular we witnessed these wonderful, moving moments of music in the madness,” says Catherine. “Soldiers singing the national anthem and getting married on the front line. The viral video of the girl in a bomb shelter singing Let It Go. In times of crisis, music matters even more. That’s what we set out to celebrate.”
A recent trip to Nashville in February, the Hampshire sisters’ second home since they recorded their debut in the city while still at school, nailed the spirit of the album.
Ward Thomas then returned to Hampshire with half a dozen songs captured mostly as voice memos on their mobiles. In a first for the duo, the songs were recorded with their long-standing live band, at the suggestion of producer Ed Harcourt, which brought their live chemistry into the studio.
Still only 28, Catherine and Lizzy are on a roll and already working on a sixth album which they plan to release before they turn 30.
“We look up to artists like Brandi Carlile, whose career has grown organically. Of course, we love success, but the artists we admire are the ones who keep showing up and don’t sell out. We do what we do because we love music and we have something to say.”
- Ward Thomas play Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on Tuesday April 11. For ticket availability visit St David’s Hall’s website