One of my 23 For 2023, Glasgow’s Alison Eales is best known as a long-standing member of Butcher Boy, as well as being part of Glasgow Madrigals and collaborating with the likes of The Just Joans and Featherfin. After years of performing with others, Alison is set to launch her solo career later this month when Fika Recordings share her debut album, Mox Nox. A record about the passing of time, Mox Nox was heavily inspired by sundial mottos, words engraved into the timepieces that reflect the wisdom of their makers and owners. Ahead of the release, Alison is premiering the record’s title track here today.

Mox Nox lifts its title from one such sundial motto, fittingly translating as Soon, Nightfall, the track is Alison at her most stripped back, nodding in equal parts to Monkey Swallows The Universe and Sunday Morning-era Velvet Underground. The production, courtesy of Paul Savage at the famous Chem 19 studios, is fantastic throughout, as Alison’s poised vocal and looping ukelele are adorned by the distant fizz of echoing strings plaintive woodwinds and subtle percussive flourishes, adding gorgeous texture to the sonic landscape.

Fittingly for the record’s shadowy inspiration, Mox Nox is accompanied by a video of DIY shadow puppetry, as Alison explains, “it’s so in keeping with the sundial theme, but I didn’t think I had the skill to do it myself. Then I saw Manual Cinema’s beautiful work on the 2021 Candyman film. I loved the starkness of the figures, and it inspired me to have a go at silhouette animation. I used Powerpoint to create the characters and backgrounds, and then superimposed them over time lapse footage of the sky outside my flat at sunset”. Check out the video below.

Mox Nox is out March 24th via Fika Recordings. For more information on Alison Eales visit https://fikarecordings.com/artists/alison-eales.