About
Cast in the grand tradition of great British rock bands, and fuelled by a love of American blues, funk and soul, Little Barrie’s sixth studio album is the first released solely under the band’s own name since the death of drummer Virgil Howe in September 2017. The LP follows more than two decades of activity that have established the band as a key force in UK psychedelic rock and soul. Following Howe’s passing, Cadogan and founding bassist Lewis Wharton placed the future of the band on hold. After initial plans to resume playing were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, the pair began collaborating with long-time friend Malcolm Catto (The Heliocentrics). This partnership resulted in two albums, Quatermass Seven (2020) and Electric War, released on Easy Eye Sound in April 2025. For Gravity Freeze, the hooks are sharper, the grooves are deeper, and the atmospherics thicker, building on the band’s previous, highly-acclaimed work.
“Have you ever had sleep paralysis?” asks Cadogan, discussing the title track of the trio’s latest offering. “That’s what ‘Gravity Freeze’ is written about. It’s like a nickname I gave to that moment where you’ve woken up and you’re still dreaming. The first time that happened to me, I freaked because I couldn’t move, but I couldn’t tell if I was awake or not. It’s a very strange feeling, and you do weird things, like trying to walk through wardrobes. There are a few elements on the album that reflect what we’ve been through in the last few years. We’ve been through a lot, some of which we’re still processing.”
Work on the LP began in late 2023. The album was recorded at Rat Salad Studios in Hornsey, North London, with Rupert Lyddonserving as recording engineer and co-producer. Continuing the band’s established DIY approach, early demos were captured in a cold room room in Dalston surrounded by partial drum kits, art equipment, and random bits of wood and metal, before formal recording sessions began. Coote joined the band for the album, contributing performances informed by classic jazz, soul and blues rhythms. Recording took place alongside Cadogan’s commitments as a touring and session guitarist, including work with Liam Gallagher and John Squire, The Black Keys, and THE THE, as well as sessions at Easy Eye Sound Studios in Nashville.
Gravity Freeze was written and sequenced with vinyl in mind and marks over 25 years since Little Barrie’s first singles on Stark Reality. The release represents a new chapter for the band following a nine-year gap since their previous studio album.
