Life is too short to not allow ourselves to feel as deeply as possible. Why restrain what’s in your heart when you can bask in the inherent beauty of the world around you, and surround yourself with others who do the same. It’s all too easy to become guarded and jaded these days, but imagine if we all had the courage to tell the people who inspire us, comfort us, and make our lives brighter exactly how much knowing them has enriched our time on this Earth. We see the best in others that they may not see in themselves, what a waste to leave it unspoken. Beneath the rock solid rhythm section and bright jangle pop melodies of Sparxsea’s ‘Daylight’, lies just such a reassuring confession of faith and appreciation. The sentiment behind its radiant chorus (“I see a daylight burning bright in you, and rays full of golden truth, seeding creation in my heart“) embodies the spirit of what we all long to hear from another, yet are too scared to offer in turn. Between the sense of community and solidarity being fostered, and the fact that the track’s proceeds are raising money for Ever After Mustang Rescue horse charity, it’s hard not to be moved by the love and compassion poured into this project.
Author: James Fenney
Top Tracks: Francesca Louise – Waiting For You
We all need a little push once in a while. Someone to spur us on to take the leap when presented with new challenges and opportunities. As heartening as it is to have people in our lives who embolden us to be better and step out of our comfort zone, often the only encouraging voice at hand when we need one is our own. It’s all too easy to dismiss that inner voice as a hypocrite; the one that built the comfort zone you’re so scared to step out of in the first place, the one most afraid of failure. Yet take a moment to trust in yourself and you’ll find no one more understanding of where you’re at, of what you’re capable of, and of what it would mean to succeed. ‘Waiting For You’, the gorgeous new single from Belwood favourite Francesca Louise, plays as an encouraging reminder to herself to take the plunge into the unknown. Fittingly Francesca’s vocals sound more comforting and assured than ever, and clips of her own travels and adventures featured in the charming lyric video echo the promise of brighter days ahead. The warm folk arrangement shimmers like golden hour sun on rippling water, before building towards a triumphant, uplifting finale that feels like feeling that same sun warm your skin as you begin truly believing your own encouraging words.
Top Tracks: Ren Lawton – Charlotte
Sometimes the best creative breakthroughs are born through approaching your art from a different angle. A fresh perspective works wonders, and occasionally the best way to find one is by adding constraints to a project and treating its creation as a puzzle to be solved. The charming folk of ‘Charlotte’, the latest single from Belwood favourite Ren Lawton, is the product of just such a creative conundrum. It’s the first track from an upcoming EP Harry’s Poems (from the loft), out 23rd September, which sees him interpret the work of his uncle Harry Owen, inaugural Poet Laureate for Cheshire. Not all poetry lends itself to musicality, nor can a lot of songs claim to be truly poetic. Exploring where the overlap lies, playing Elton to his uncle’s Bernie Taupin, and finding inspiration in another medium, has clearly worked wonders for Ren’s creative spirit, if the entrancing fingerpicking and serene melodies he lends to ‘Charlotte’ are anything to go by.
Spotlight!: The Bedside Morale
Still life is always in motion. Every photo is but a single frame in the movie that is our lives. Time is always marching on; cracks form, dust gathers, and slowly but surely we get a little older and wiser. Even the most unremarkable days, the most mundane slices of life, all add up to something in the end. Either we grow accustomed to the life we’re living – learn to live with our pain, look past our doubts, and begin to appreciate the little things we took for granted. Or it all adds up like the straw that broke the camel’s back, forcing us to face facts and make a change when it finally dawns on us that there’s a better way to spend our days. No matter how still, how stuck in a rut, our lives seem, there’s always progress being made. The hands of the clock are still turning even if you can’t always see them moving. With their debut EP Still Life, Bristol quartet The Bedside Morale offer slices of love, pain and self-reflection at various stages along the journey. Continue reading
Album Review: Jack White – No Name
Top Tracks: Megan Dixon Hood – Mind’s Eye
“My mind is like a map of every word I’ve said, reaching far and wide like a spider’s web“. It’s not often the opening line of a vibrant dance track leaves me feeling philosophical, but Megan Dixon Hood pulls off just such a feat with her kaleidoscopic new single ‘Mind’s Eye’. I was introduced recently to the writing of Victorian inventor Charles Babbage; long story short he pondered how every word we speak, every move we make, influences the air around us and makes a lasting yet invisible impression on the world. He thought that if you could somehow track every particle, you’d find a record of all those words and actions – and perhaps, with such a high level of understanding, you may even figure out what comes next. In reality, the highest level of understanding we have is of ourselves. No one knows the journey we’ve taken, the choices we’ve made that led to this moment, better than we do. As such, no one knows our own future better than us. ‘Mind’s Eye’ is a track all about trusting your gut, as the answers we seek are within us from the start. Buoyed by mesmerising synths, Megan’s soaring Aurora-esque vocals, and the energising refrain of “you know who you are“, we find this reminder: manifest the future you want, and reflect on the winding path that led here, in order to find the way forward
Album Review: Sour Widows – Revival of a Friend
Top Tracks: Tyler Edwards – Since You Came Around
Call it what you will – naivety, optimism, being a hopeless romantic – but I’d like to believe there’s such thing as love at first sight. Sometimes when you meet someone there’s just an instant connection. Perhaps you have so many shared interests and experiences that you end up talking for hours and yet it feels like minutes. Or maybe you’re on the same wavelength to such a degree that you can say everything you need to and be understood with just a glance. Every so often we meet someone for the first time and it feels like we’ve known them all our lives – it only takes a small push to turn that initial spark into something deeper. The flipside however is that sometimes such meetings are with people who are only in our lives for a fleeting moment. To my mind ‘Since You Came Around’, the new single from Nashville based singer/songwriter Tyler Edwards, feels like the soundtrack to a Before Sunrise style meeting of two soulmates for the first, and last, time. With a dreamy, introspective and bittersweet quality that reminds me of The Paper Kites, it’s the sound of finding love, knowing it will slip through your fingers, and deciding to make the most of the one night you have together as at least that memory will last forever.
Spotlight!: Ålesund
The world around us changes with the seasons, and though we may think ourselves above it, we ourselves are changed along with it. Winter is a time for endings, and so naturally we are compelled to reflect on all that came before. As the animals hibernate from the cold we find warmth and comfort nestled up with friends and family. Spring is alive with new beginnings, and instils in us the compulsion to look forward and carve new paths. But it’s the summer heat that forges us into our strongest, boldest selves. It’s the period where we’re most likely to leave the life we know behind in search of adventure. It’s punctuated by dancing at festivals, cheering in sports stadiums, parties that make the most of the long days, memories made in sunsets that seem to last an age. Summer is for living. Sat here on the hottest day of the year thus far, listening to the new EP from Bristol band Ålesund as the last rays of sunshine illuminate the street, I can’t help but feel the band are burning every bit as bright as the summer sun.
