Singapore-based five-piece dream-pop/shoegaze band motifs has completed their new EP, If This House Was Bigger.
Their previous debut album, Remember a Stranger, sold out physically worldwide, including in Asia and Europe, and drew attention in Japan with a series of live shows. In 2024, they surprised shoegaze fans by opening for slowdive in their home country of Singapore.
For this new EP, motifs recorded at Sundlaugin Studios, owned by Sigur Rós, located just outside Reykjavík, Iceland. Staying in a house called Himri in the mountains near Reykjavík, the band worked alongside producer Leonard Soosay (Snakeweed Studio), who helped craft the dreamy sound of Remember a Stranger, over the course of a week.
Every morning they woke to snowy landscapes, drove along frozen rivers and through mist, faced blizzards that almost stole their sight, returned home late at night, and cooked dinner together in the middle of the night. That week gave them what they didn’t even know they needed:
"Silence, time, and warmth."
Living under one roof for the first time, free from pressure, they played music as it slowly and gently emerged. The winter air, the stillness, and the historic atmosphere of the studio became deeply intertwined with the band’s sound.
Across five tracks, motifs expands their sonic palette without losing the emotional core. From the icy, roaring track “Aug 16,” to the slowcore reflection “Heavy Is The Air” beside a never-freezing river, to the lo-fi beats reminiscent of The Radio Dept. and Club 8 with Elspeth’s transparent vocals on the gentle “Later On,” the EP carries a quiet intensity. Lyrics whispered in late-night bedroom hallways and acoustic guitar phrases are recorded as honest, intimate snapshots of the band.
The first pressing is available on limited grey vinyl, released in collaboration with fastcut records, SHELFLIFE (USA), and Too Good To Be True (France).
For fans of Cocteau Twins, The Cranberries, I Mean Us, Mazzy Star, Megumi Acorda, Sobs, Subsonic Eye, Sigur Rós, slowdive, The Sundays, and more.
