Following on from their lovely song (and gorgeous live video), Tell Me, Brighton pair PELA are back with new song Heavy.

PELA’s latest song takes a song about feeling slow and heavy and combines it with the kind of groove that feels like it could lift the darkest of us out of the doldrums.

The duo, made up of Hannah Coombes and Olly Shelton, describe Heavy as “kind of an anxious indie-pop”. Co-written with British musician Liz Lawrence, the new song deliberately juxtaposes the song’s optimism with its insecurity, its organic sounds with electronic ones. It feels like a testament to the duality that exists in all people and all things.

Heavy is the latest song to be unveiled from PELA’s imminent debut EP, Little Ceremonies. That release is PELA’s “first time bringing together a body of work that’s connected”, the band say. As they explain the relationship between the two tracks heard to date and the rest of the EP, PELA describe Heavy and Tell Me as songs that:

“Confront frustration and anxiety, both personal and societal … (whereas the three songs that follow are) a way to transform these feelings. How making everyday acts ceremonial and precious can be a way to find joy, peace and solace from anxiety and pain.”

Check out PELA’s live performance of Heavy, recorded live at St Mary’s Church, below:

Tell Me, the new song from Brighton duo PELA, bristles with an infectious organic warmth. Producer and instrumentalist Olly Shelton’s fuzzy synths and snappy hip-hop inspired drums come together with singer/songwriter Hannah Coombes’ crisp vocals to create something truly seamless. The combination feels timeless yet modern, like Haim partnering up with Dan Snaith.

The video of Tell Me features a one-take live performance, the band joined by Dom Walker on saxophone, in St Mary’s Church near Brighton. I love the clean, classy feel of both the performance and the recording.

Tell Me is our first exposure to PELA’s soon-to-be-announced EP. The song itself bubbles with a sense of determined optimism, and the band talk about their inspiration of having the purpose of mind to make better decisions:

“Tell Me is about learning to interrupt the spirals we find ourselves in and how to navigate unhelpful thoughts. It was the first track we wrote after moving to Brighton and embodies the sense of a fresh start.”

It’s an important notion that I have found myself reflecting on and requiring in the past, and I love the quiet confidence demonstrated on Tell Me.