Hitting a major milestone in life often makes you reflect on the people who helped get you there. Being a long-time collaborator with numerous Belwood favourites, I’m sure the marvellous Martin Luke Brown has a veritable who’s-who on the thank you notes for his long awaited debut album Damn, Look At The View!, which sees him at long last take centre stage. Thing is, when running down the list of people who’ve made it down this road with you, it’s hard not to also think on all the people who you’ve parted ways with. We lose more people in our lives than the ones we keep by our side, but these partings rarely come with some big goodbye. Whether it’s loved ones who pass away, or friends we slowly lose touch with until we’re no longer in each other’s lives – whether burning out or fading away, there’s simply no way of knowing which goodbye will ultimately be the last. But every person we meet, no matter how long they’re with us, still leaves a mark on our lives all the same. The wistful nostalgia of ‘see you later x’ is a lament for all the unsaid goodbyes and partings left unmarked, but above all it’s a heartfelt thank you from Martin Luke Brown to everyone that’s played a part in his journey.
top tracks
Top Tracks: Ålesund – Rode Off Into The Sun
Every ending has the chance to become a new beginning. Each mistake presents an opportunity to learn and grow and become a better you. Every void left behind by the things we lose in life can be filled with something new. They say the best revenge against the people who hurt us is a life well lived, and the same is true of every frustrating mishap, cruel twist of fate or inner demon intent on ruining your day. The only thing standing between you and a better tomorrow is finding the strength to let the past lie and keep pushing forward. Of course, that’s easier said than done, but with their latest single, Bristol band Ålesund show how one person’s resilience can be the inciting spark for those around them to find their own inner strength. Building from its humble opening toward a climax of emphatic drums and triumphant brass, ‘Rode Off Into The Sun’ reflects admiringly on a friend’s ability to leave their burdens behind in troubled times and resolve to start a new chapter full of better things. It’s a song which takes that infectious and inspiring positivity and pays it forward, providing an uplifting spark to help overcome adversity and seek a brighter tomorrow.
Top Tracks: The Last Dinner Party – Nothing Matters
There is plenty of music out there that could be called “style over substance”, but ‘Nothing Matters’ defies this idea by being so stylish that it takes on substance. The Last Dinner Party’s debut single shows the band’s confidence overflowing yet fully earned and justified, their aesthetic so finely curated and yet worn with such casual and naturalistic charisma, a preposterous conflux of different stylistic elements whose perfect fusion still somehow comes across as effortless. Abigail Morris’ velveteen vocals lending an air of elegance worthy of a Jane Austen adaptation, a command of melody in the verses with the infectious theatricality of an Alan Menken soundtrack. The quirkiness of Kate Bush and the vulgar playfulness of Wet Leg dressed up in an aloof and beguiling gothic exterior, with a grand and soaring guitar solo acting as the perfect capstone for this debut single’s magnetic appeal. With ‘Nothing Matters’ The Last Dinner Party have crafted a track so charming that it collapses in on itself like a black hole to create a point of infinite stylishness whose pull is impossible to resist.
Top Tracks: Ålesund – Never Enough
Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. You’ll start dedicating so much of your time and energy to chasing some high, only to find that you end up losing yourself in the process. Whether a physical addiction to something tangible, or the pursuit of something more abstract, like the fame and attention of your peers or the love and affection of someone you’ve put on a pedestal – trying to replicate that rush can often blur the line between pleasure and pain. With ‘Never Enough’, Bristol’s Ålesund deliver this cautionary tale in an ironically addictive fashion. There’s a dazzling interplay of light and dark at work, juxtaposing dramatic brooding instrumentation with frontwoman Alba Torriset’s bright soaring vocals. Between the bold thunderous drum work, angelic layered vocals and the theatricality of the piano cutting through the expansive arrangement, there’s a sense of grandeur and etherealness here that will delight fans of Aurora and Florence + The Machine. Here’s a high that needs no chasing, it’s right there at the push of a button; and in this case. enough really is never enough.
Top Tracks: Simon Alexander – Freeloaders
As great as it is to hear more of what you love from an artist, it’s nothing compared to the thrill of hearing them try something new and absolutely nailing it. Just like that, a whole new world of possibilities has opened up, a fresh style or genre for an artist to explore and make their own. Regular Belwood readers may know Swedish singer/songwriter Simon Alexander for his fantastic folk balladry or bright and airy indie anthems, but with his latest single he dials the energy levels up a notch. This driving alt rocker maintains the same knack for crisp engaging melodies, but is propelled to new heights by its raw grunge arrangement. Taking inspiration from the 90s music of his youth, ‘Freeloaders’ wears its influences on its sleeve, while its lyrics ruminate on how those carefree days seem so far away and are only drifting further with each passing year. So full of fire and meaning, it’s such an enticing first taste of what’s to come from Simon Alexander and the wide new horizons ahead of him.
Top Tracks: Tyler Edwards – Between Your Arms
Much the same way that everything has a hint of magic when it’s hit by the golden glow of sunset, the right song can make any surrounding feel beautiful. No matter how broken and neglected the neighbourhood is, having the right music playing as you walk on by can make you see those streets in a new light. The soft hazy folk of ‘Between Your Arms’, and how it shimmers like dawn’s light through the morning mist, is a prime example. Even in the most bleak and grey concrete jungle, this song acts as your own secret garden. That one golden drop of goodness in your surroundings that shines all the brighter against the grim backdrop. Fitting in way, as it serves as a reminder that the right person can provide the same escape. No matter how loud the noise gets, how bitter and exhausting the people around you are, having just that one person that understands you and offers comfort without judgement can make a world of difference. You can sit back and survey the storm from your safe harbour.
Top Tracks: Rafaèlla – Woman
The best music, and art in general, comes from the heart. When someone imprints their identity onto their work, their hopes, their fears, their emotions, you can feel that connection. But in order to best share a part of yourself in this way, you must first truly know yourself. Whether that’s by allowing yourself to feel something you’ve kept pent up for a long time, or by embracing all different pieces that make you who you are. All your deepest passions, your biggest influences, your roots, all you stand for and believe in. Prompted by women’s rights stories of recent years, from the harrowing to the inspirational, ‘Woman’ is song about Rafaèlla’s own personal journey of self-acceptance, and a celebration of inner strength. From her understated yet assured vocals, to the traditional Greek instrumentation that honours her Cypriot heritage, Rafaèlla builds a clear picture of who she is as an artist, and as a person, on this new single.
Top Tracks: Francesca Louise – The Sea
They say that all roads lead to Rome. A vast network spanning a continent and beyond, with the Eternal City at its heart. It’s the perfect recipe for a melting pot of lost souls, who have all hit the road hoping to understand themselves and find meaning. It seems that Belwood favourite Francesca Louise is just such a soul. Her latest single ‘The Sea’ is a wistful reflection on her time spent there. The strangers that left their mark on her heart and became something far more, the freedom of walking the winding roads of the seven hills beneath the warm summer sun. The result is a blissful pastoral escape; the feather-light folk guitar, elegant swell of strings, and of course Francesca’s delightfully dreamy vocals, all making this serene single as captivating as it is comforting. All roads lead to Rome, but a road goes both ways, and more often than not what waits at the other end is the sea. People would carry the spirit of the city with them as far as their feet would carry them. Francesca’s stunning new song will stay with you every bit as far, offering a window into a place, a memory, and of freedom and serenity, whenever you may need it.
Top Tracks: S.I.L. – Lonely Nights
Sometimes reaching the end can give you a greater appreciation for even the smallest of steps you took on the journey to get there. When you get your big break and start living the life you’ve dreamt of, you recognise all the minor milestones that you neglected to celebrate as the leaps in progress they truly were. When you’re head over heels in love and look back at all those little moments – the stolen glances, the playful flirting, the brush of their skin against yours – and realise each and every one made you fall just that little bit deeper. ‘Lonely Nights’ is just such a journey. The subdued mellow R&B soundscape, the understated drum work that adds extra layers of intricacy and expression. Those warm soulful vocals, that irresistible groove that subtly snakes its way through the song. It’s only when you reach the pinnacle of this deftly crafted track, when it’s at its most vibrant and alluring and practically dragging you by the collar to the nearest makeshift dancefloor, that you truly appreciate the way that Orlando based duo S.I.L. were able to build it up piece by exquisite piece.
Top Tracks: Megan Dixon Hood – The Garden
We all find comfort and escapism in other worlds. In the books we read, the films we watch, we cherish stories of such fantastical lands that leave us daydreaming of being whisked away there. I’d like to think however, that the people of those other worlds find themselves dreaming in turn of the Earth we know, of a world so majestic and full of beauty, clinging to tales of lush rainforests and kaleidoscopic coral reefs. Imagine how they’d feel if they knew how we treated the world they dreamt of; how we take its splendour for granted. On ‘The Garden’ Megan Dixon Hood delivers another environmentally conscious anthem in the spirit of past tracks like ‘The Wishing Tree‘. Taken from her forthcoming debut album East of the Sun, Megan’s otherworldly vocals, equal parts earth-shaking and ethereal, make her sound like a wanderer from a fairytale land trying to show us the error of our ways, before we’re left with a wasteland where no birds sing and no rivers run. From its shuddering primal drums to its vibrant and ever-shifting synth melodies, there’s a world to discover here that’s just as diverse and full of fleeting moments of beauty as the one that surrounds us now.
Belwood Music 