Modern Woman: Dashboard Mary
(One Little Independent Records)
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London art-rock outfit, Modern Woman, have announced the release of their debut album Johnny’s Dreamworld on 1st May 2026 in advance of their forthcoming UK tour and also given us a first taster via new single Dashboard Mary. The single is a true testament to their unique approach to sound and rhythm which explores how noise can collide with melody with spectacularly vibrant results, all of which promises so much to look forward to from the band in 2026.
It’s fair to say that London-based art-rock outfit Modern Woman never expected a fast rise to stardom given how it all started from an intimate songwriting project by primary songwriter and vocalist, Sophie Harris. But as time progressed, I also guess that Sophie would have had little idea how this project would have developed as the band’s sound evolved through years of creative refinement leading up to this point at which they have now forged their own unique blend of theatrical indie folk music, post punk art-rock and semi-rock opera. In Sophie’s own words, “A vital theme I’ve always wanted in Modern Woman is the idea of conflicting things, of the tender/harsh, loud/quiet and scrappy/polished.” And this is definitely what you will hear as you read on.
The seeds of the band started to grow when Sophie met violinist and composer David Denyer, who brought a background in experimental composition and textural sound work. Subsequently being joined by Juan Brint-Gutiérrez on bass and saxophone and Adam Blackhurst on drums, the group forged a style that values the contrasting harsh edges of folk lyricism and noise that collides with melody. My own first taste of this was when I saw Modern Woman supporting Ezra Furman in Leeds back in August 2023. Witnessing such an eclectic fusion of sound was a very exciting moment and the band were immediately placed on my watch list.
Modern Woman’s first recorded output was their Dogs Fighting In My Dream EP in 2021, followed by singles Ford (2021) and Achtung (2023), with subsequent live performances giving them the opportunity to road test some of their songs. All of this showcased their penchant for discordant rhythms, angular guitars, and staccato drum patterns, all wrapped up with Sophie’s beautifully refined and elegantly operatic vocal style conveying her intelligent lyricism and the band’s avant-grade sonic imagery. With all this experience behind them, it is now clear that 2026 is likely to prove to be a pivotal year for the band as they announce the release of their debut album, Johnny’s Dreamworld, on 1 May 2026, which will be preceded with a number of singles starting now with Dashboard Mary.
Dashboard Mary is a song which is initially driven along by keyboard accompaniment in a subdued and sultry manner, with Sophie’s glorious vocals taking centre stage. But then the drums kick in and start to build a degree of intensity before the song finally erupts into a magnificent raging swirl of psychedelic haze before reaching its triumphant climax. Aside from being a product of the melting pot of influences drawn from each member of the band, Dashboard Mary is a song which captures the comedown following a feeling of escape, with a gradually unfolding narrative that builds towards that rapturous climax. As Sophie explains, “This is a song that I wanted to write like a film. I wanted to confront the feeling of the ‘morning after’ and the decisions made during that time of exhilaration the night before.”
As for the accompanying surreal and intense video, self-directed by Sophie, in which she is pursued across countries by a threatening spectre, Sophie explains as follows, “This was the first time I had directed a video, we shot it on 16mm film, which was an experience. We went to Iceland to shoot the snow scenes, to the south coast of the UK for the beach, some scenes in London, and finally a scene in an apartment in the Barbican. It is essentially a dream sequence, waking up in different locations and falling back asleep to wake up elsewhere. I liked the idea of something following the main character around in her subconscious.”
In terms of Modern Woman’s forthcoming debut album, Johnny’s Dreamworld, the band have indicated that this will be a tender but confrontational collage of shifting tones and perspectives, of dream logic, fantasy, and lived experiences, guided by Harris’s voice; expressive, incantatory, and alive with curiosity, shaped by a long-standing admiration for vocalists like Björk, Sinéad O’Connor and Cat Power. So this is definitely something to look forward to when it is released on 1st May 2026.
Modern Woman have a run of live dates coming up in both Europe and the UK supporting Ezra Furman. The dates are as follows:
January
19 – Vienna, AT – Arena Wien
20 – Graz, AT – Dom Im Berg
21 – Linz, AT – Posthof
22 – Munich, DE – Technikum
24 – Prague, CZ – Cargo Gallery
25 – Berlin, DE – Columbia Theater
26 – Hamburg, DE – Molotow
27 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso Tolhuistuin
28 – Antwerp, BE – Trix Club
29 – Paris, FR – Le Cabaret Sauvage
February
01 – Glasgow – The Art School
02 – Manchester – New Century Hall
03 – Bristol – Electric Bristol
04 – London – O2 Forum Kentish Town
You can get tickets for all the live shows here.
You can stream the single here.
You can pre-order the album here.
You can find Modern Woman on Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp and their website.
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All words by Ian Corbridge. You can find more of his writing at his author profile here.
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