CMU Approved

Approved: Faith Eliott

By Andy Malt | Published on Tuesday 19 March 2019

Faith Eliott’s debut album, ‘Impossible Bodies’, is a conceptual work, of sorts, each song represented by a different animal. Looking at these different creatures allows for a broad range of topics across the album, with lyrics delving into religion, space travel and climate change. And while dogs, rabbits, monkeys, snakes (on previous single, ‘Lilith’) and more make the cut, there are also some less often considered beasts. Such as on new single ‘Loomis’, which may be the first love song to the humble sea sponge ever written.

“I feel like we have so much to learn from sea sponges”, says Eliott. “It seems so common to see our innate and primal ‘nature’ as individualistic, defensive, and violent. Sea sponges, on the other hand, are one of the first examples of single cells teaming up and co-operating as a composite being. Many of them exhibit really beautiful instances of symbiosis. I think we would do well to keep in mind that sponges are potentially our oldest ancestor. It shows that we have it in our biology to help each other and work together, as much as we have it in us to be destructive”.

“In this song I am addressing the sea sponge; the primordial, asymmetrical lump we all evolved from”, Eliott continues. “I want to reassure it that once we all die out, the Earth will just go ahead and change again, and that that is OK. Of course, climate change is very real and not at all OK. But sometimes feeling utterly overwhelmed by the horrors of reality distracts from what you can actually do to make the world better. Like being kind and gentle. Or in the case of the sea sponge, converting sunlight into nutrients in order to create a symbiosis with the photosynthesising algae that it hosts”.

‘Impossible Bodies’ is set for release on 19 Apr. Watch the video for ‘Loomis’ here:

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