Happy New Year, is available on Nonesuch Records in the US today, November 22, 2024. The EP comprises four songs, including today’s release: an acoustic version of “After School” from their latest album, All Now. The Staves call “After School” “a love song to our sister Emily inspired by the bands we were listening to in the ’90s. Putting on the rose-tinted glasses and embracing nostalgia.”

The Staves have released an acoustic cover of The Beatles' "She's Leaving Home" ahead of their return to the US to tour in November. "This song is one we’ve known forever and have loved, partly because of its vivid storytelling but also the incredible string arrangement," the Staves' Jessica and Camilla Staveley say. "We realized that there are actually no harmonies on this song, only the two voices of Lennon and McCartney singing—it felt like a sign."

A video for The Staves’ "Waiting for the Joy," a track recorded during the sessions for the band’s 2024 album, All Now. “The song began in the throes of the first lockdown when the feeling of isolation was so prominent," the duo’s Jessica and Camilla Staveley say. “Everyone seemed so inspired, and we were worried that we weren't inspired by music in general anymore.”

As part of the year-long celebration of Nonesuch Records' 60th anniversary, The Staves' Jessica and Camilla Stavely-Taylor join the Nonesuch Selects video series, in which artists stop by the Nonesuch office, pick some of their favorite albums from the music library, and share a few words on their choices. The duo stops by and chooses music by The Gipsy Kings, Emmylou Harris, Joachim Cooder, Steve Reich, and Nickel Creek.

The Staves share a lyric video for “I Don't Say It But I Feel It” from their 2024 album, All Now. “This was the first song we recorded for the album, and we had just written it so there’s a freshness and an immediacy to it for us,” The Staves’ Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor say. “The song is about passing surges of emotions and memories that often don't get expressed or articulated. It’s exploring that state of stillness on the outside but with a flurry of things happening below the surface and how, often, we don’t let on what we’re really feeling most of the time or how much we’re feeling it. Even the question ‘how are you?’ can prove difficult to find the answer to ... The song came from a train ride down to Brighton with friends with the scenery whizzing by—the transient flashes as things come in and out of focus. The song is built around this two-chord pattern that kind of chugs along and motors through, picking out these jolts of feeling or memory that rush by.”

The music video for the title track to The Staves' 2024 album, All Now, is directed by James Arden and inspired by the influential British music television program Old Grey Whistle Test. “It’s a stream of consciousness about frustration and feeling overwhelmed with modernity,” the duo—Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor—says of the title track. “Kind of a rejection of the performative way we have to express ourselves now in order for it to be deemed valid. We were in love with the old footage of singer songwriters performing in shows like the Old Grey Whistle Test, and the way the audience hung on the singer’s every word. We wanted to play with the idea of ‘All Now’ being an ideology and a message. Something that came from artists and creatives, but is then hijacked and commodified by corporate creeps, preaching the message to gain power.”

The Staves perform "Waiting on Me to Change," from their 2021 album, Good Woman, from the London venue Lafayette.

The Staves perform "Failure" from their 2021 album, Good Woman. The video was made in London's Sunbeam Studios, directed by Olivia Eames. 

The Staves perform an intimate live rendition of "Satisfied," from their 2021 album, Good Woman.

The Staves perform the title track to their 2021 album, Good Woman. The video was made in London's Sunbeam Studios, directed by Olivia Eames. The band says: "We’d like to thank our amazing band, Glyn, Marcus, Chris and Rob, and all the crew involved for making this shoot possible whilst observing social distancing rules and keeping all of us super safe."