music

Spotlight!: Natalie Shay

/ James Fenney

natalie shayIt seems odd to think that we’re only now writing about Natalie Shay’s debut EP. Ever since we covered her stunning single ‘This Feeling’ back in 2018 she’s been part of the furniture here on the blog, an unquestioned Belwood favourite right from the off. With just a handful of singles to her name she’s not only won us over, but has also become one of the UK’s most sensational rising stars. With each new release she has generated major buzz in the indie pop world, added to her ever growing legion of fans, and has also grown ever more assured as a songwriter and performer. Her previous releases have seen her sound grow and change, only to finally bloom on Naked as a glorious fusion of nostalgic day-glo 80s vibes and effervescent indie pop energy.

Shimmering synths, bright melodies and irresistibly danceable grooves are the order of the day here, and the infectious carefree spirit that pervades the record knows no bounds. ‘Not The Girl’ and ‘People Like Me’ boast manic wailing guitar solos, the title track ‘Naked’ has a delightful dash of retro sax, and the new stripped back version of ‘Yesterday’ adds so much depth to the track. Beneath the buoyant enthusiasm of the music however lies lyricism that details how messy and uncertain relationships can be; all the fear, temptation and conflict. The end result is a bittersweet record that feels, in more ways than one, like a John Hughes film – defiantly fun and uplifting in the face of unresolved struggles and emptiness. For most artists a debut EP is a shaky first step into the wider world, but for Natalie Shay it feels like a culmination of everything she’s worked hard to build, and a promise that this is still only the beginning.

Fans of Fickle Friends, Clean Cut Kid and 80s pop should check out Natalie’s Naked EP

Top Tracks: Francesca Louise – Out Of Sight (Out Of Mind)

/ James Fenney

“It’s a funny feeling when you feel you’ve lost your mind” – doesn’t that just capture love in a nutshell? Falling for someone can really change a person; like a spell cast over you, like some phantom possessing you out of all your control. Love can make the most steadfast person succumb to impulse, cause the most logical mind to be ruled by passion, make the hardest of hearts yearn for openness and intimacy. The sway that love has over us is what makes it so beautiful in the long term, and also so terrifying when it first blooms. When you find yourself falling your emotions get caught in a daunting Catch-22 situation, one that’s captured brilliantly in the soulful folk of ‘Out Of Sight (Out Of Mind)’. This sincere new single from Francesca Louise, taken from her forthcoming debut EP Melancholic Antidote, shows how embracing love and avoiding it are equally difficult paths. It is no easy task to willingly be vulnerable, to give someone the power to either destroy you or build you up and trusting them to choose the latter. Nor is it any easier to bottle everything up, to have a secret on the tip of your tongue longing to be free, to have someone occupy your thoughts night and day alongside the ever present question of “what if?”. Francesca’s candour, earnestness and enrapturing vocals make this track really shine. I’ve chosen my path, I won’t let my love for this song go unspoken.

Top Tracks: Paper Waltz – The Closest

/ James Fenney

There’s all kinds of songs in the world. Music with vastly different styles and structures, with deeply contrasting moods and meanings. Despite this wealth of contrast and variety in the music we consume, we usually celebrate all the songs we love in exactly the same way; namely we listen to them again. It’s just human nature isn’t it? We keep the same song spinning on repeat, basking in every note and burning an imprint onto our brain until we move on to something else. This is the case with 99% of songs we love, but every so often we come across a song like ‘The Closest’ that demands the opposite. Steeped in meaning, melody and melancholy (and with a gorgeous stop-motion video to boot), this track from German duo Paper Waltz is testament to the fact that the saddest songs are the most beautiful. It’s the kind of song that demands your full attention, followed by a moment or two of quiet reflection to take it all in. One listen is all it takes for songs like this to occupy your mind all day long. It may be a while before you come back to listen to it again, but that only ensures that every time you hear it will be just as magical and affecting as the first time.

Top Tracks: Brooks Dixon – Not In This Alone

/ James Fenney

I have to admit I’ve been feeling a little apprehensive about the inevitable wave of songs written about the Coronavirus and the ensuing lockdown. While I’m sure there will be nothing but good intentions behind them, it is a delicate subject that requires a gentle touch and a certain degree of empathy and tact. If any of them broach the subject anywhere near as well as ‘Not In This Alone’ however then I’ll have nothing to worry about. Despite being written, recorded, and released in a very short time frame, this new track from singer/songwriter Brooks Dixon shows remarkable mindfulness for the current situation. Touching on the atmosphere of fear and uncertainty that comes with feeling trapped, as well as the small reassuring moments of humanity that see people looking out for one another and giving us all a spark of hope and joy, the song really captures the zeitgeist of the bizarre times we find ourselves in. At a time when we’re forced to keep our distance, the well spoken lyricism and warm vocals found here are just the comforting embrace we all need and long for.

Top Tracks: Secret Cameras – The Silence

/ James Fenney

Most songs are works of art that you take in all at once like gazing at a painting. Sometimes however there is great joy to be found in songs that bide their time, that don’t play their hand too soon and let you stand witness as they build up over time. What we have on offer with tracks like ‘The Silence’ is more akin to seeing a painting brought to life one brush stroke at a time or having the final few pieces of a collage fall into place to reveal the bigger picture. Songs like this latest release from London quartet Secret Cameras just get better and better with each listen as you delve deeper into the myriad of little details and nuances. Opening with swirling cyberpunk electronica reminiscent of latter day Muse, you already have an inkling that the band have something inventive and eclectic in store for you right from the very start. As the song develops we are also graced with rich vocals, propulsive drums, a glorious post punk bass line that you can feel rumbling deep in your gut, and guitars wailing like some feral creature straining against chains that can barely contain it.

Top Tracks: Drew Angus – Mr. Gemini

/ James Fenney

This track makes me want to believe in astrology… now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d begin a review with, but bear with me! To be more specific, as a Gemini child myself I wish I was half the man depicted in this rollicking rocker from slick singer-songwriter Drew Angus. ‘Mr. Gemini’ takes all the long held stereotypes about those born under the sign – namely being outgoing and impulsive, wild and unpredictable, as fickle and as forceful as the weather – and dials them up to 11. We’re left with a vivid picture of a freewheeling whirlwind of a man, barrelling down the highway in search of the next big adventure. That same zeal burns brightly in every aspect of this old school rock’n’roller. As well as name-dropping The Boss it has all the same heart as an uptempo E Street offering, the soaring guitar work reminds me a little of The Only Ones’ ‘Another Girl, Another Planet’, the superb vocals strike the perfect balance between polished and free-spirited, and its unrelenting upbeat energy is damn near irresistible. I’m no oracle, but all the horoscopes are telling me that this is an early contender for being one of the best songs of 2020.

Top Tracks: Megan Dixon Hood – Cloudwalker

/ James Fenney

The world would be a very different place without dreamers, yet they remain forever misunderstood. We all too often see daydreaming and having your head in the clouds depicted as some kind of character flaw rather than as a kind of inner strength and creativity to be admired. With ‘Cloudwalker’ Belwood favourite Megan Dixon Hood shines a light on the real power that dreamers possess. How they can break the Earthly bonds that hold them back and escape into a world of imagination. One where the expectations of others become meaningless and you can be whoever you want to be, a place with no rules or limits, and experience a sense of freedom unlike any other. In seeing the world through that lens people can weather the fiercest storms, see all the forgotten beauty and wonder in the everyday, and think outside the box and look at problems from a new angle. With Megan’s entrancing vocals, some melodic nods to Kate Bush, and an uplifting whirlwind of boundless electropop energy – this one goes out to the dreamers. Here’s a song to make you feel like cartwheeling over endless jungle canopies or dancing across oceans on the crest of a wave.