At times like this when we’re holed up at home with little more than our own thoughts for company, our minds often wander to people that we’d rather not think about. Whether it is someone who hurt you and left you feeling broken, or someone you loved and lost who left an empty void in their wake, it’s all to easy to dwell on the memories of those who leave a mark on our lives. Sometimes so much so that we begin to lose ourselves in the process. We begin to feel like the shadow of the person we used to be when they were still around, and it can be a struggle just to get through each day as we slowly try to build ourselves back up. The gorgeous piano balladry of singer/songwriter Caity Krone’s latest track shares exactly what it’s like to carry such a burden. This stunning number shares how debilitating it can be when you’re drowning in memories of someone else, but underneath also acknowledges that each little victory is a step along the road to finding yourself again.
top tracks
Top Tracks: Phosphene – Spiral
Now more than ever we all need an escape. Here we are, all going stir crazy stuck behind four walls while the world outside is scary, uncertain, and eerily quiet. Now seems like the perfect time for the kind of song that whisks you away to better places and happier times. It feels like an age has passed since we last wrote about Portland based dream pop outfit Phosphene, but they have returned when we need them most with a brand new single. Fittingly ‘Spiral’, taken from the band’s forthcoming album Lotus Eaters, is a track all about seeking solace and peace during hard times. If you find yourself searching for the same such respite then then there’s certainly no shortage of it to be found on this latest release. The bright melodies, hazy synths and airy indie riffs make ‘Spiral’ a song to be cherished, the kind that feels like the comforting embrace of the sun breaking through the clouds or the first flowers of spring blooming to bring some colour to a dreary grey world. When everything around you is on a downward spiral, sometimes one song is all it takes to help turn things around and send your spirits spiralling skyward.
Top Tracks: Samantha Lindo – Underside
We all have a part of ourselves that we conceal from the world. Outwardly we portray our best self. We try to show the world that we lead a happy life, that we’re confident and beautiful, that we leap from one success to another. In this image conscious age in which we find ourselves, we push ourselves to maintain this perfect veneer in order to hide what lies underneath. Beneath the facade most people are battling just to keep their head above the water. Whether it’s stressing about everyday struggles, worrying about what the future holds, being haunted by past trauma, feeling scared or alone or unworthy, and trying their best to bottle up that raging storm. ‘Underside’ is a track that reminds us that it’s okay to let the mask slip from time to time. That by letting someone else in to see what we hide away we can share the burden and hold each other up. Bristol based artist Samantha Lindo’s soulful vocals, articulate words of encouragement, and slick yet understated jazz arrangements offer just the kind of loving warmth and reassurance that world needs more of.
Top Tracks: Sophie Morgan – Bar to Bar
A common piece of advice for writers is that you should write what you know. The same applies to songwriters; when you create music that tells the tale of your life, about the experiences that shaped you, it can make a world of difference. There’s a certain electricity in the air when you can tell an artist has poured their heart into a song and has crafted something very human and relatable. That feeling is perfectly encapsulated in Belwood favourite Sophie Morgan’s latest offering ‘Bar to Bar’, which tells her story of starting out in music, writing songs, gigging across town, and falling in and out of love along the way. While most songs about life on the road tend to glamorise playing to massive crowds or a life of excess behind the scenes, it’s so refreshing to hear a humble depiction of a musical journey just beginning and the loves and losses that come with it. Especially when it shares the same wistful poeticism and gorgeous honeyed vocals that left us so enamoured with Sophie’s last release. If this track from her latest EP Marmalade (out 20th March) is anything to go by, then the humble origins shared in ‘Bar to Bar’ were just the first step along the road to great things.
Top Tracks: The Satellite Station – Phantom
Everyone that we meet who we welcome into our lives leaves their mark on us in some way. Some small trace of them lives in us, and we come across little reminders of them as we go about our lives. Perhaps it’s hearing their favourite song, or visiting a place you spent a lot of time together. For those closest to us, the ones we give our heart to, even the most slight of stimuli can bring them to mind, like the faintest of scents drifting by on the breeze or the soft touch of another’s hand against yours. When you lose someone you love, be it through a break-up or them passing away, you begin to feel the marks they left everywhere you turn. The suitably haunting ‘Phantom’, from singer/songwriter Travis Rue under his moniker The Satellite Station, details what it is like to be living in the shadow of someone’s memory. Having so many things that remind you of them that it feels like they never left. Trying to move on when there are reminders all around you, but at the same time not wanting to escape by forgetting them entirely. This sparse and elegant number is one that you can really empathise with, and it will live on in your memory for all the right reasons.
Top Tracks: Limón Limón – Normal Now
A huge part of who we are is determined by what we want other people to think of us. We all wear a mask to blend in with the crowd to some degree; it’s human nature, we’re sociable creatures and we want to belong, to feel like part of the group. To that end we don’t try to be exceptional, we don’t let our unique character shine through as much as we should, instead we end up striving to be average. We keep our heads down and conform, we live our lives guided by society’s standards and try to keep up with the latest trends. This new track from indie duo Limón Limón rejects the notion of normality and acts as a celebration of individuality. The hazy synths, understated groove, and light and airy riffs make ‘Normal Now’, with its vintage 80s vibes, feel like a splash of vibrant colour in an otherwise bland and beige world. It’s a track that we find happiness within ourselves, not from the approval of others.
Top Tracks: AARYS – Talk
When artists share their inner demons through music, not only does it provide relief by venting their struggles, it also gives a voice to everyone else listening that has ever felt the same way. It serves as a reminder for both sides that you’re not alone and there are people out there who understand what you’re feeling. Especially so when it’s a song as well written as ‘Talk’ which finds the right words to capture a feeling you thought was indescribable. This latest single from Canadian artist AARYS deals with the crippling isolation of anxiety. How it builds two walls around you that keep you from reaching out to others: the anxiety itself, that relentless inner critic that convinces you that you’re an outsider and aren’t welcome, and the stigma surrounding the anxiety that instills a fear that people will see and treat you differently if they knew what was going on inside your head. Between them its like being caught in a vice grip, wanting to call out but finding your voice just catches in your throat unheard. All who know the feeling will find their struggle echoed in the song’s vast yet empty arrangement and its striking refrain of “I wanna talk to you, but I wanna hide from everyone.”
Top Tracks: Kate Vogel – Glad It’s You
It’s hard to say goodbye, and it’s even harder to admit to yourself that it’s for the best. They say when you truly love someone you put their happiness before your own, even if it means that they’re better off with someone else. A truly noble gesture on paper, but in practice how many of us are really strong enough to be so selfless. ‘Glad It’s You’ plays as a letter to an ex’s new partner, acknowledging all the things they give them that you never could, and wishing them both the best for the future as everyone deserves to know love and happiness. I’m not sure I know many people that have the strength and maturity to even admit such a thing to themselves, let alone articulate those thoughts into a gorgeous folk ballad and share it with the world. The candor, sincerity and tenderness shown in this track stands as a real testament to Kate Vogel’s strength of character and her remarkable ability as a songwriter. In both its music and its sentiment, ‘Glad It’s You’ is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard in a good while.
Top Tracks: Hannah Grace – Blue
It’s been well documented that we’re all our own harshest critics, but something you rarely see mentioned is that we’re also our own best friends. When we are at our lowest, more often than not it falls on us to pull ourselves up out of the darkness. In essence ‘Blue’ is all about self love, about being so exhausted and exasperated with feeling down that you channel every last bit of energy you possess into feeling positive. That positivity simply radiates from this track, from its earworm melodies, from its stunning soulful vocals, and from the golden glow of its gorgeous retro video. It is the kind of song that just lights up the room. After a string of stripped back piano ballads it’s wonderful to hear Belwood favourite Hannah Grace releasing music to make you want to get up and dance and cast all your doubts and worries aside. While we may often have to pull ourselves up out of the darkness, often I find it is joyful songs like this that help light the way forward.
Top Tracks: A Choir of Ghosts – Sinner in Rapture
Making an important statement about society and the world around us through music is often associated these days with music that is fiery and energetic, with the likes of punk and rap etc. Meaningful messages in music can trace their ancestry back to very different styles however; in simple folk songs carrying messages of peace and in the voices coming together to sing of equality in traditional gospel. These songs didn’t unite people by fanning their anger, instead they appealed to something deeper inside all of us, something far more spiritual and indescribable. ‘Sinner in Rapture’ does much the same thing as it shares a frustration at how society sets up all young people to fail, to strive and struggle just to survive without truly living. This latest track from Scandinavian artist A Choir of Ghosts, taken from his forthcoming debut album An Ounce Of Gold, shares his longing to break free, for the broken system to crumble to ruin, through his dark and earnest vocals, soaring string arrangements and uplifting choral segments. It’s a song that ignites a very different kind of fire, not some bright flash but one that burns long and brings people together out of the darkness.
Belwood Music 