New Pine Overcoat
Fred Bambridge at It’s All Indie described New Pine Overcoat as “mesmerising” and was “astounded that [Angel] is a 30-year-old track.”
I just feel bad as if this came out in the 90s I honestly feel like the whole world would know about Hovercraft.
“…romantic guitars that reshape into the unusual angles of Mazzy Star.”
“The song unfolds like something out of Phoebe Bridger’s Punisher, taking its time to reveal itself and building steadily with emotional delivery and evocative storytelling.”
Lovely review from LT1KF.
“Americana guitar soundscape and sublime, atmospheric vocals…”
“…the pairing of tracks holds a high emotional quotient and we are fully in awe. We appreciate the sync friendly nature of the releases, and can imagine both songs in movies and TV shows.”
Great review from KIMU.
New Pine Overcoat / Angel
The antidote to Christmas singles you didn’t know you needed.
Before the AI reconstructions, before the rnb and neo-soul transformation of The Promised Land, before the Hovercraft resurrection project — these were the original 1990s demos that survived only because they were kept in cardboard boxes for thirty years.
“New Pine Overcoat” is close to Charlie Pepper’s raw acoustic folk original of the song that later became The Promised Land. It travels from youthful defiance to something darker in under three minutes. Unpolished, intimate, and far closer to the bone than the later reconstruction.
“Angel” begins with breathless acoustic longing and ends in bitter, coming-of-age defiance — Christmas angels with broken wings, impossible love turning into clarity. The ending lands exactly the way Charlie wrote it: unexpectedly sharp.
These tracks come from the original Hovercraft tapes recorded in Grimsby, 1995–96. Digitised, repaired, and released as part of the ongoing search for our missing songwriter and friend, Piers “Charlie Pepper” Wildman, last known to be in the Bournemouth area.
Every release is both memorial and message.
Sending a note, hoping someone reads it.