Spotlight On... Quiet Houses

Edinburgh duo Quiet Houses are Jamie Stewart and Hannah Elliott. They’ve been making dreamy indie-pop together since 2021 with two EPs already in the bag – 2021’s Big Town and last year’s Since July – garnering lots of attention and radio plays along the way. In a short time, they’ve amassed quite the following, and have already performed on some of the biggest stages; touring with Tide Lines last year saw them play venues like the Usher Hall, they’ve showcased at Wide Days, and have played Connect Festival.

At the start of the year, the pair released the ultra-dreamy What My Heart Is For. Sounding like it could be taken straight out of a coming-of-age film, it’s fueled by emotion that ebbs and flows in Elliott’s effortlessly ethereal vocals which promenade over glistening and atmospheric guitars. With the single’s accompanying Local Hero-inspired music video arriving at the end of last week, and a headline show at King Tut's just around the corner, we catch up with the pair to find out more in our first Spotlight On… of the year.

What My Heart Is For sounds like it could soundtrack a coming-of-age film; we’re absolutely loving the vibe, and almost nostalgic energy of it. Can you tell us what inspired the song?
Thank you! The song is about not really knowing what you want but really wanting it badly anyway. It’s about how pursuing dreams can feel absurd, especially given the context of climate change etc. The song started with a drum loop and a guitar riff and we built everything around that. There’s definitely a dreampop influence, there’s Hatchie-inspired keys layers and some MUNA-style drum sounds – there’s a couple of Teenage Fanclub references in there too.

The accompanying music video is heavily influenced by Local Hero – what drew you to this, and what was the process like when it came to capturing that same mood in the filming?
It’s been one of our favourite films for ages. We love the whimsy and the subtle magical elements like all the stars, comets and the scene with the webbed feet. Thematically there’s a lot of overlap between the film and What My Heart is For so we thought it would be fun to reference it in the video. Jamie’s uncle and aunty have a cottage close to Camusdarach Beach [where Local Hero was filmed] and it’s such a beautiful location so we decided to head up there and do a photoshoot with Henry Beach and a video shoot with Meg Henderson. We had planned a lot of the shots before the shoots and both Meg and Henry understood what we were going for so the whole thing went fairly smoothly!

Image: Quiet Houses – What My Heart Is For video still

There’s a couple of closeups in the video on the words ‘carried away’ on the underside of a skateboard deck – what’s the relevance of this? Is this single part of something bigger?
It’s possible that this single might be part of something bigger and also possible that the words 'carried away' might have something to do with it. Or it could just be a coincidence.

You’re about to play a headline show at King Tut’s as part of their New Year’s Revolution series – what are you most looking forward to about the show, and what can people expect on the night?
We can’t wait to play the new song live! It has been sounding great in rehearsals. We’re playing with two other fantastic musicians, George Purnell is playing drums and Lucy Jones is playing keys. We want to create an atmosphere that people can get lost in; our shows are about romanticising your life and escapism. Don’t expect mosh pits but do expect a bit of swaying, people with their eyes closed soaking it in, some dancing – it’s fun!

After the show, what’s next for Quiet Houses?
More of the same! We’ve got some releases planned and some exciting shows in the diary. We’re currently writing as much as we possibly can and just generally curating the Quiet Houses world – it’s an ongoing process.

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What My Heart Is For Is Out Now; Quiet Houses play King Tut's, Glasgow, 25 Jan
quiethousesband.com