Cloud-like fragility comes enveloped in two-minutes of ‘treasure’ as Norwegian genre nomad, Selma French releases… Pine Tree

Selma French – Pine Tree
OUT NOW
Hype City Music via Redeye Distribution
From the album, No Sign Of Rotten Leaves, released Fri 25 April 2025
www.hypecitymusic.com

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Freedom, happenstance and letting the song take the lead are the feint lines within which Selma French’s new single, Pine Tree, was gently sketched into being. The third song to be asked to fly first from the nest of her upcoming, second album, No Sign Of Rotten Leaves, the glinting, two-minute sigh into a space of sparse instrumentation and fresh spontaneity finds air beneath its wings.
 
Exploring the crossing ley lines of songcraft between the present and the past, the textures of wired and woody instrumentation and pitching mischievously between submission and strength, French’s 10-track masterpiece was created in Oslo and fjord-shored Nesodden. A plugged-in, comparably garagey first single from the album I Think I Knew, complete with guitar solo, deftly threw chasers from the stale scent of stereotypes and expectation at the first turn.
 
Little Sisters and Friends’ oceanic range of mood, emotion and instrumentation, set across six, rushing-by minutes, then arrived as an establishing presence, bold and with fathoms of dramatic depth. By stark comparison, keeping the guessing game going, French brings Pine Tree to fruit as an experimental success, finding the song leading her and just two other musicians quietly by the hand.
 
“This is something dreamy from my mind,” says French. “I recorded it without even having lyrics in the verse, but then we concluded it was nice to have a break from words and just sway along the notes in this little Waltz. It feels like this song knows a secret story, like it is guarding a hidden treasure on the bottom of the sea. In the spirit of this mystery, I added some minimalistic viola details on it afterwards.”

Released on rapidly emerging Oslo indie, Hype City on Fri 23 April 2025, No Sign Of Rotten Leaves will be released on multiple formats including vinyl, CD and digital. Including each of the first three singles, French has confirmed the track listing as follows:

1. Cold Coffee On The Shelf
2. I Think I Knew
3. Pine Tree
4. Little Sisters And Friends
5. Shadows Of Evil
6. Hunt
7. Swim In December
8. Still Do Anything
9. Joanna
10. Goodnight Seeds Of Hope
 
French’s studio band includes friends and collaborators from a close-knit, connected Norwegian indie-folk community. As well as leading with her evocative vocals, French plays guitar and fiddle.
 
Springing from the critical success that followed the release of her debut album, 2022’s Changes Like The Weather In The Mountain, French’s artist-to-artist exchanges and creative kinships have blossomed on stage as well as in the studio. In late 2024, French toured the UK extensively in the company of friend and kindred spirit in song, Euros Childs.
 
For pre-order information, upcoming releases and to be the first to know about any live dates, connect with Selma French and Hype City online via:

https://x.com/selmafrench_
https://www.instagram.com/selmafrench
https://www.facebook.com/people/Selma-French/100072127520037
 
http://www.hypecitymusic.bsky.social
https://www.instagram.com/hypecitymusicno
https://www.facebook.com/people/Hype-City-Music/61569419610568