Dolly Varden

In 2001 Dolly Varden had been working nonstop together for six years with things steadily building. They'd made three albums and the newest, The Dumbest Magnets, was getting unexpected airplay on the BBC and attention from the British press.

In August 2001 the band traveled to Nashville to record their follow-up album, and they arrived home to find that their studio was broken into and they had lost some prized guitars, amps and recording equipment. And then 9-11 happened. Like everyone else they felt a like they'd been kicked in the stomach and stood stunned and wondering about the future. The musicians agreed it was time for a well-earned break.

Even though the band hadn't played together in a long time, in 2004 they joined up at a friend's new studio and everything fell into place naturally. The collective intuition born from years of rehearsing, recording and touring was alive and well for the five musicians, and the joy of playing music together came back as a welcome rush.

This creative resurgence resulted in the recording of The Panic Bell

Dolly Varden

The Panic Bell Dolly Varden £9.99