Lola Marsh is back with their sophomore album, Someday Maybe Tomorrow, today (Jan 24).
Hailing from Tel Aviv, the Israeli indie-pop duo first gained traction with their dreamy 2016 EP You're Mine, which was quickly trailed by their debut album, Remember Roses, the following year. Three years later, Someday Tomorrow Maybe arrives on the heels of lead single "What Am I" and the Wild-West-whistle of a mid-tempo ballad "Hold On," which was released earlier this month.
To celebrate the release of their latest LP, lead vocalist Yael Shoshana Cohen and guitarist Gil Landau broke down the inspiration behind all 12 tracks on the album to Billboard, opening up about their songwriting process and the varied, emotional wells they explore to find inspiration.
Check out the duo's full commentary below.
"Echoes"
Gil Landau: This song was definitely inspired by our love for Westerns. It was originally written as a ballad, but eventually we felt that this song needed a much more groovy approach, so we changed it to an upbeat tune. We imagined our listeners dancing and clapping with us. It’s about that scary beautiful moment just before falling asleep, when you are the most lonesome version of yourself.
"Only For A Moment"
GL: The day we wrote this song, a terrible storm hit Tel Aviv. We recorded the chorus in a rush because Yael remembered that she forgot to close the windows in her apartment. So on the first iPhone memo recording you can hear Yaeli screaming that she needs to run back home, and the chorus is sung in double time.
"Hold On"
Yael Cohen: This song was written about a chaotic and confusing time for us. We struggled to keep it all together — the band, our personal lives and our changing relationships.
"Strangers On The Subway"
YC: This song was written in 30 minutes. We had a writing session and had no inspiration at all. Gil needed a break and went for a walk. By the time he got back, I had almost finished the melody & lyrics. I remember singing the song to Gil with tears in my eyes. He said it’s a great song, so we then finished writing it together, and decided to sing it as a duet.
"Like In The Movies"
GL: We really love this song. It is a simple love song, with a wide production. It has a different DNA in it, it’s big and epic, yet has a soft and tender feel.
"In Your Eyes"
YC: I remember that Gil had the guitar part done for a long time. It was so beautiful, and we just knew we had to write a song for it. "In Your Eyes" is about the dreams parents and their children share sometimes. This song was inspired by my dad; he was a very musical child and played the piano from a really young age, but unfortunately had a terrible accident with his hand and gave up on music.
"Give Me Some Time"
GL: I remember when we wrote the first chorus of this song, both of us looked at each other, and we just knew we had something good in our hands. We were happy for a whole week because we wrote this song. We always say that writing a good song, gives you energy and fuel, and that’s exactly what happened with this one.
"What Am I"
GL: "What Am I" is one of the first songs we wrote way back in 2011 when Lola Marsh was just getting started. The day we wrote it, we were sitting for hours trying to find inspiration, but we had none. Eventually I went to the other room, mumbling “what will I do? What will I say? What will I be?” in Hebrew. Yaeli, just like a hunter, took a pen and a piece of paper, and we found our inspiration.
"Darkest Hour"
YC: This one was inspired by our tours around the globe. The band aren't only good friends, we're more like a family and sometimes after a show, after the amount of love we get from the audience, It is kind of lonely to get back to a hotel room all by yourself.
"Four Long Seasons"
GL: This song was originally a completely different song, it turned out to be a combination of two songs. It’s about those times in life when you feel like you’re the loneliest person in the world. The beautiful thing is, that you might be lonely but you’re actually not alone in this feeling.
"In The Morning"
GL: This] is actually the strings part from “Darkest Hour," we loved the strings so much and just had to give them the proper stage. We really wanted to bring our listeners inside our world, and it is definitely a world with romantic strings in it.
"Where Are You Tonight"
YC: This song Is a reprise of "Echoes." We loved the idea of opening the album with "Echoes" and closing it with "Echoes 2" (a.k.a. "Where Are You Tonight"). The first Echoes demo was recorded like this, and shortly after recording it, we decided to change it to an upbeat tempo. Still we really loved the first version so that’s why we decided to have it as the final track on the album.
Someday Tomorrow Maybe is out now. Stream it below.
