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Aug 06, 2025 By Andy Von Pip Photography by Angela Marie Ricciardi

After nearly two decades as one-half of the cult UK duo Blood Red Shoes, Laura-Mary Carter is stepping into her own spotlight. Her debut solo album Bye Bye Jackie arrives September 26th via Jazz Life, preceded by the beautifully overcast lead single “June Gloom.”

Where her work with Blood Red Shoes bristled with urgency, Bye Bye Jackie lingers in the shadows. Written in hotel rooms and quiet nights at home, then recorded in Hackney with Oscar Robertson (sholto) and David Bardon (Sunglasses for Jaws), it’s a record built on lo-fi textures, flickers of vintage soul, and a kind of 3 am introspection that feels both intimate and unflinching.

“June Gloom is a bittersweet weather report that captures the weird timing of sadness—how it shows up just when things start to feel okay,” Carter says. “Blending dry humor with emotional honesty, it draws on SoCal’s signature overcast season as a metaphor for that familiar inner fog. Featuring a guest lead from Lee Kiernan of IDLES, it’s equal parts funeral planning and cosmic shrug.”

Kiernan’s guitar cuts through the haze with a turbulent energy, while Carter’s lyrical gaze never blinks. Love and loss are at the core of Bye Bye Jackie, but there’s no romanticised melancholy here, just a dry-eyed farewell. “Yes, Jackie exists (and if you’re reading this… don’t),” she notes. “This is a farewell in stereo, to fading faces, busted dreams, and plastic flowers that never wilt. I bet it all on Jackie. Jackie lost.”

EUROPEAN TOUR DATES

(† = UK shows with special guest SMASHER)

25 NOV – Yellow Arch, Sheffield, UK †

26 NOV – McChuills, Glasgow, UK †

27 NOV – Deaf Institute, Manchester, UK †

28 NOV – St Matthias Church, London, UK †

29 NOV – Lantern Hall, Bristol, UK †

13 FEB – Grand Social Ballroom, Dublin, Ireland

16 FEB – Pop Up du Label, Paris, France

17 FEB – Paradiso (Cinetol), Amsterdam, Netherlands

19 FEB – Amor, Antwerp, Belgium

20 FEB – Lark, Berlin, Germany

Tickets go on sale Thursday, 8th August at lauramarycarter.com.

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