Spotlight

Spotlight!: Ber

/ James Fenney

A big part of what draws me to support up-and-coming artists is the chance to see a work in progress. In a way it feels like reading the first draft of a story and having your future favourite character leap off the page for the first time, or getting a glimpse behind the scenes of a film in production before it hits the big screen and seeing how all the pieces come together. There’s an inherent joy in seeing the spark of an idea begin to take shape and form into something great. As far as music is concerned, hearing those first singles, those explorative early EPs, the build-up to a debut album where an artist finds both their sound and their confidence, is endlessly endearing. Often hearing a record that’s rough around the edges, but has heaps of promise and personality, feels far more rewarding than a fully polished product. A notepad full of scribbles says a lot more about a person than some aloof CV. And I’m Still Thinking About That, the debut EP from Minnesotan singer/songwriter Ber, is the most heart-melting example of this that I’ve heard in a good while. Continue reading →

Spotlight!: Kitty Perrin

/ James Fenney

It feels like far too long since I’ve wholeheartedly promoted a new artist and sung their praises to the world – you know, the whole reason this blog exists in the first place. For whatever reason it’s become harder to find new music that excites me. So much out there just feels too familiar; scores of talented artists drawing from the same inspirations and chasing the same trends only to inevitably arrive at much the same destination. It’s hard for an act to stand out from the crowd, and even harder for me to put a finger on a way for them to do so. After all, it would be too much to reasonably expect every act to continually put out something new and unique, right? But in listening to the debut EP from Kitty Perrin, the answer suddenly reveals itself. Each of us is already unique; we all face our own trials and triumphs, viewed through our own perspective. Every artist has a story, one only they can tell, but it’s only those special few like Kitty Perrin that manage to so resoundingly imprint their identity into their work. Continue reading →

Spotlight!: Jenny Kern

/ James Fenney

At this point it’s become easy to take these last couple of years for granted. We resign ourselves to keeping busy and trying to maintain routines without stopping to take stock of just how much strain we’ve been under. All the cracks in our psyche that have deepened, and the fresh ones that have formed, thanks to all the isolation and uncertainty. It becomes this scared little whisper in the void that we ourselves refuse to even acknowledge, never mind share with others. With her debut EP I Never Thought That You Were Listening, Canadian born singer/songwriter Jenny Kern superbly expresses the sense of solitude and deafening silence that we’ve all been facing; capturing the zeitgeist of the new normal and the lessons we can take forward from it. What’s more this Belwood favourite adorns her introspection with such cinematic synthscapes and mesmerising melodies. Evoking the eerie glow of city streets in the still of night, it paints the perfect expanse for Jenny’s poignant musings to echo against. Continue reading →

Spotlight!: The Greatest Endangered Thing

/ James Fenney

It’s rare to get a second chance at a first impression. In part because it’s equally rare for us to get a break from the hectic humdrum of modern life to afford us a moment for reflection and reinvention. But then again, it’s not every day that the whole world grinds to a halt, and offers up an unparalleled opportunity to look at things from a new perspective. It was an opportunity that transatlantic duo Samuel Taylor and Rebecca Van Cleave seized to the fullest, and in doing so found the missing piece, the essential capstone, for their latest musical endeavour. Embracing life in the slow lane while recording in the Peak District village of Tideswell, the pair developed a deeper appreciation for the beauty of nature around them, as well as for the profound power of human connections and the joy of collaboration. All the things that we all too often take for granted came into focus, and in doing so informed and inspired what would become their debut EP And You, And Me. Continue reading →

Spotlight!: Emilia Tarrant

/ James Fenney

It’s always been said that your should “write what you know”, but what about when you find yourself in a state of not knowing? What about when things don’t turn out the way you hoped and expected they would, and you find yourself in an unfamiliar place you never expected to be? Or how about when you find yourself carried beyond your control by various ebbs and flows – of fate, of the whims of those who have your heart, of the confusing swirl of thoughts inside your own head – and are left unsure what the next day will bring, what then? Sometimes when you’re lost the best thing to do is to write what you don’t know; give voice to the uncertainty, take what catharsis you can from venting frustration at the fickleness of life, and just hope that you find solid ground further down the line. With her debut EP Honeymoon Phase, singer/songwriter Emilia Tarrant offers a candid window into her own battle with uncertainty and heartache. At a time when we all feel the need maintain a façade of us at our best and pretend to know what we’re doing, we have here an affecting and assured pop record for which you can’t help but lower your guard. Continue reading →

Spotlight!: Zach Wood & Hollan

/ James Fenney

I don’t think I’ll ever stop being enamoured with, and enraptured by, the power that music has to bring us together. It has proven time and again to be a precious golden thread connecting us, especially so in a period that has left us all feeling isolated. A song can provide the same solace or release to countless people thousands of miles apart, it can forever imprint upon your memory a sense of time and place for moments shared, and when everything aligns sometimes one song is all it takes to fall in love. In this instance all it took was one demo finding its way to the right ears to forge a friendship, and ultimately lead to this stunning collaboration. Zach Wood stumbled upon Anna Manotti’s demo for ‘Water’ (under her moniker Hollan), and after several years of listening to each other’s music, the two friends finally met in 2019. New ideas flowing freely, but unable to take their creations on the road, instead they decided to hunker down and record what would become Cowgirland. The rest, as they say, is history, and through such fortunate twists of fate we were gifted with this superb record. Continue reading →

Spotlight!: Griff

/ James Fenney

While I try my best to keep my finger on the pulse, some artists rise to the top so fast that it’s easy to blink and miss them. No sooner did the name Griff appear on my periphery as one to watch, she was stealing the show at the BRIT awards and being held up as their rising star. While I may sadly be a little late to the party, it’s most certainly still a party I want to be part of, as her time in the spotlight is most assuredly deserved. With her debut release One Foot in Front of the Other we find the perfect mission statement of what makes Griff so rightly hailed as the UK’s next big pop act. Entirely written, performed and produced by her alone, so much of her personality is poured into this EP, offering assured performances and carrying a clear idea of who she is and where she’s going for anyone that listens. With her own unique style as a performer, a touching candour to her lyricism, and a knack for crafting memorable hooks, she ticks every box for what a pop act should aspire to be. Continue reading →

Spotlight!: Luke Todd

/ James Fenney

We go through our days being told that our youth is the best time of our lives. Very rarely do we believe it at the time however. We’d whittle away our adolescent years daydreaming of what the future might hold, and it’s only with the benefit of hindsight that we begin to appreciate what we had. That stage of important firsts where every emotion burned its brightest. Heartbreak may have been all the keener, but never again will moments of joy feel quite so boundless. That time where all the people most important to us were always close at hand, not knowing you’d eventually drift apart along different paths and at different paces. With his charming debut EP Adolescence, singer/songwriter Luke Todd stands at a lyrical crossroads between the last days of a fading youth and those tentative first steps into adulthood. Taking a nostalgic look back at the carefree days once taken for granted, as well as reflecting on how growing up takes you by surprise and all the ways it fails to meet expectations, this adept songwriter delivers an assured and affecting first record.  Continue reading →

Spotlight!: BE GOOD

/ James Fenney

be goodThere’s something strangely compelling about those few hours where the late afternoon fades into the early evening. In that bewitching liminal space between night and day, we see so much change in such a short space of time, evoking a wide array of different feelings. The warm glow of golden hour that can make even the most mundane and dreary setting feel magical. The way the sunset bathes the sky in colour like an impressionist painting; a vibrant canvas of pinks and oranges that you can’t help but stare up at with a sense of childlike wonder. The eerie blue haze of dusk as those last lingering rays of sunlight cling on as darkness seeps into the sky. Oxford quartet BE GOOD condense the bittersweet beauty inherent in each sunset into their latest EP Everything’s Alright in the Evening. Continue reading →

Spotlight!: Cristina Hart

/ James Fenney

The perfect person doesn’t exist, no matter what the media may say otherwise. We’re all constantly being bombarded with these manufactured little pockets of perfection that set impossibly high standards for ourselves and others, but beneath it all there’s always another side to the story. For every flawless portrait there’s a dishevelled mess stumbling out of bed that morning. For every budding romance there are the scars of rejection and heartbreak. For every golden success story there’s someone picking themselves up after they fell at yet another hurdle. Rather than shy away from the little moments of humanity that we’re all too keen to hide, Belwood favourite Cristina Hart makes sure to put them square in the spotlight. Her long awaited debut EP Sell a Dream plays like a journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance. An empowering pop powerhouse to remind you that your imperfections are part of who you are, and to embrace them unapologetically. 

On ‘I’m A Mess’ Cristina pokes fun at her own flaws, as well as at our eagerness to pretend that we’ve all got our shit together, when in reality no one has a clue. Learning to love yourself is no easy task, but ‘Bad Girlfriend’ addresses the even more daunting prospect of letting your guard down for someone you love, and trusting them to accept you – baggage and all. The fiery ‘Vanilla’ meanwhile sees her come out fighting, taking a defiant stand against those who would have her be someone she’s not. Each stunning single is packed to the brim with the kind of euphoric pop production and infectious earworm melodies that make you want to cast all inhibitions aside and dance your worries away. Cristina saves the best till last though, with the beautiful balladry of ‘Will You’. It’s here that all the finery is stripped away, and against the elegant piano arrangement we get the chance to bask in her truly breath-taking vocals. Cristina’s stunning range, as well as her relatable lyricism and unwavering positive energy, put her in a class all her own. And while there may be no such thing as perfection, there’s still not a thing I would change about this brilliant debut. 

Fans of Ariana Grande, Maisie Peters and Lauren Aquilina should check out Cristina’s debut EP Sell a Dream out now.