Oregon Alt-Pop Trio We Three Announce Brand New Album "Love Me" and Headline Tour
Oregon alt-pop trio We Three have announced their brand new album Love Me, out July 21st via Palawan Productions. Alongside the announcement of their eagerly awaited fourth album, the band have also announced headline tour dates for 2023.
The band will play eight dates across the UK and Ireland, starting at Newcastle Riverside on October 22nd and finishing at The Academy, Dublin on November 1st. The tour will include a London headline show at KOKO on October 30th. Tickets went on sale 19th April via https://www.wethreemusic.com/
Love Me is the richest, rawest and hardest-hitting work yet from the Humlie sibling trio – Manny (vocals, guitar), Bethany (bass) and Joshua (drums). The first taste of the record is the vulnerable lead single ‘In Therapy’, which upon its release in March proved an instant hit with fans and has achieved over a million streams.
The acoustic-led pop ballad finds frontman Manny admittedly singing, "I'm a jealous little piece of shit," after telling us that he saw The 1975 live and couldn't help wondering whether his partner liked Matty Healy more than him, inspiring Manny to look inward and address his insecurities. ‘In Therapy’ is a snapshot of the frank and intense themes explored in Love Me.
The devastating opening track ‘Hell As Well’ sees Manny confront the biblical abuse he experienced as a child raised according to the strict code of Evangelical Christianity. "Even as a 10-year-old, I didn't understand why I was being told that women weren't allowed to speak in that community – and I still don't understand that now," he says. ‘Hell As Well’ is firmly rooted in Manny's own experience of the church, but also contains lyrics that reference the sexual molestation suffered by one of his peers.
"That isn't my story, but it felt important to include it in the song even though I was a little scared to do so," he says. "If you feel uncomfortable listening to this song, that because it is uncomfortable. And if people don't like it for that reason, I can live with it."
Love Me is also packed with big-hearted pop songs that will provoke similarly strong reactions. ‘If I Loved A Boy’ is inspired by the upbringing that Manny is still grappling with, one he describes as "very religious and very loving – as long as you fit the mould". He says of its unflinching lyrics: "It's almost me doing my 10-year-old self a favour by asking all the questions I wanted to ask back then. Like, would you still love me if I loved a boy? Would you still love me if I didn't enjoy being married? I hope it's an anthem for everyone out there who didn't get to ask those questions or asked them and didn't get the answers they needed."
The album title might be a small phrase, but it gives huge insight into the records themes. "There are love songs on the album, but none of them are a perfectly happy love song," says Manny.
‘Love Me In A Circle’, on which Manny pleadingly sings "just love me, love me, love me, love me, love me...", is very much a case in point. "I wrote that section of the song after I had been drinking a bit and felt ready to try something different," he recalls. "The next day, I thought it was going to sound too crazy, but even sober me was like: 'There's something about this, because that sense of desperation was coming across.' And that is an important theme on this record.
"You know you shouldn't be begging for love in that way, but it's like you can't see past that in your moment of desperation," he says. "It was actually Bethany who first suggested that we should call the album Love Me. And I was like, 'That's so cool, because "love me" can be taken in so many different ways.' Like, are you saying you should love me? Or is it more of a question – like, 'do you love me?'"
There is a deep sense of togetherness running intrinsically throughout both the band and their audience. We Three have built a passionate global fanbase with their anthemic, emotive and life-affirming songs: they have over a million TikTok followers, an audience they cultivated during the pandemic, and their music has received more than 250 million streams. Forever prompting complete honesty, their music has helped the lives of many and the new album Love Me is set to capture the hearts of millions more.
UK & IRELAND 2023 HEADLINE TOUR DATES
22/10 – Newcastle, Riverside
24/10 – Glasgow, St. Luke’s
25/10 – Edinburgh, La Belle Angele
26/10 – Manchester, Academy 2
28/10 – Birmingham, O2 Institute 2
29/10 – Brighton, Concorde 2
30/10 – London, KOKO
01/11 – Dublin, The Academy