“I’ve always been interested in what can’t be seen – the emotional undercurrents, the things people feel but don’t articulate. As an artist producing my own work, I wanted to escape into something that honoured that invisible space – bringing an unexplainable sense of ‘heaven ‘- or even a peaceful ‘undoing’ into my physical world through heavy times. Pressing the record on physical vinyl makes that desire all the more palpable, and hopefully, closer to being real.

“THE INTANGIBLE is my attempt to make the unseen audible. It’s an electronic album, but it isn’t cold. It breathes – built from vulnerability, distortion, restraint, and release. It’s about losing faith in the external world and slowly learning to build it within yourself instead.”

Intimate yet expansive, the record explores fragmentation, longing, wavering faith, defiance, and self-reclamation. THE INTANGIBLE constructs a textured sound world designed for intentional listening. It is not built for passive consumption, but for immersion. We asked Wrené to do an in depth track by track breakdown of THE INTANGIBLE for us. Read it below.

Archangel

‘Archangel’ opens the record as both homage and confrontation. Inspired by and sampling Burial’s Archangel, but with added lyrical narrative- the production leans into organic drum samples, fragmented atmosphere, and emotional restraint- echoing the UK underground textures that shaped its DNA.

It explores the oscillation between light and shadow in intimacy- in relation to others, as well as one’s self. Lyrically, it voices that figurative angel and the devil on one’s back when feeling love. It’s a bit of an anti-romance song: less about connection, more about navigating the complexities of projection, distortion, and self-sabotage. It’s when you’re unsure what is real- and so you choose simplicity instead. Ironically enough, most people’s response to this track in particular is sound focused and surface level. All this angst, but in a danceable song- the perfect image of denial. The substance underneath is not overt- It’s almost hidden within its own shadow.

No Flag

A cover of Visions of Trees’ ‘No Flag,’ this track anchors the album in longing and escape. The repeated line- “I’ve gone too far, now it’s too deep.” and “Don’t point your finger at me.”- becomes a confession of displacement and defiance. An expression of I DON’T BELONG HERE.

Within the arc of the album, ‘No Flag’ represents exile. The character stands isolated, imagining another life beyond the borders of their current limitations. It is the moment of looking outward toward a psychedelic, vast elsewhere- or the potential of colour, before taking the risk to move towards anything.

NSATW

‘NSATW’ marks a plunge into starkness. The title evokes a nervous system exposed- like a tree with many branches, all of its nerves stripped bare in cold air- at least, that was the image that inspired it! Sonically and emotionally, the track embodies isolation and a wavering faith, with the repeated phrase “too long, too long” reinforcing the feeling of being trapped in a psychological loop.

It is the moment where longing meets reality- colder and more surreal than imagined-yet there is defiance in it. Even stripped down and vulnerable, the figure faces the wind with bare skin anyway. It is the first emergence of the “No Skin Against the Wind” concept in the arc of the album.

The Depths of Your Insolence

Influenced by collaboration and title inspiration from avant electronic producer Kaleidokitty, this track erupts in rage and clarity. It captures the breaking point-the moment of realizing that someone has chosen comfort over truth, avoidance over authenticity. And the grief of inevitable separation that follows.

It feels like shouting across a void: calling someone to wake up while you yourself are falling. It is a confrontation with denial- both theirs and your own.

No Skin Against the Wind

The full return of ‘No Skin Against the Wind’ appears here as a stripped-back piano ballad, featuring contemporary pianist and composer Sam Fortin. Where ‘NSATW’ was distorted and fragmented, this version is clearer, spacious, and grounded.

It represents revisiting pain with awareness. The exposure is still there, but there is more room to breathe. The distortion has cleared, revealing strength beneath vulnerability. It is not escape- it is integration.

brightyellowlightwillweevermeet

This track acts as a threshold. The dream you have before you wake. Abstract and ambient, the dream-state functions between collapse and reconstruction – it’s the final breath of Side A before the sunrise of Side B.

It imagines a golden presence: perhaps a person, perhaps a future self, perhaps something divine or imagined. The longing here is subconscious-less desperate, more visionary. It is the liminal space between day and night, between despair and the warmth that becomes so palpable in that dream.

Tomorrow Will Come (Drip Drop)

Opening Side B, this track rises like sunrise- with the possibility of warmth carrying through in a way both rich in colour and weightless . Driven by deep 808 rhythm, it shifts the album’s emotional temperature toward hope and self-trust, charged with an ‘afterglow’ from the dream, or the trip that happened on the previous track

The lyrics, such as “If you break, I’ll cradle every damaged piece” introduces a new theme of nurturance, not in fantasy but in grounded resilience. It feels more embodied and forward-moving. The will to live fully, once abstract, begins to stabilize- an evolved perspective from since the beginning of the story.

Unconditional

A stripped-back piano ballad, ‘Unconditional’ delivers a quieter but sharper clarity. With Sam Fortin’s performance acting as it’s pulse- It explores the painful revelation of where love has been poured into places that could not hold it. This is the song of “unseeing” -the moment where illusion dissolves and truth becomes undeniable. It is both devastating and liberating.

whatyougavemightneverreturnbutyouwilltransform

Originally conceived as an earlier, electronic version of ‘Unconditional’, this track fit more appropriately with the context of the rest of the album as a transitional soundscape- bridging the raw piano clarity of ‘Unconditional’ into a more digital and electronic terrain. It exists now within the arc of the album as a contemplation of the track before it, and changes its temperature.

It represents the moment after acceptance: the recognition that while something given may never return, transformation is inevitable- or unavoidable! The emotion becomes less narrative and more atmospheric -a shift from confession into integration.

NO FLAG REPRISE

Structured like a theatrical reprise, this track revisits earlier themes as they begin to dissolve. A big theme overall on this album is the dissolution of self- The intensity of ‘No Flag’ reappears in shortened, immaterial form -like memory losing its sharpness, blurring into a distant abstraction. The lyrics from its earlier presence are cut, stretched, and manipulated- almost how your mind paints or is selective of what was ever said before.

It mirrors how experience becomes abstracted over time: what was once heavy and overwhelming softens into feeling without language- and becomes almost warm. Like how juvenile memories that were complex at the time are softened into being almost charming, out of sheer nostalgia. This is the sense that the story is nearing its close -not through resolution, but through integration.

I wander…

One of the album’s most expansive moments, ‘I wander…’ emerged organically in collaboration with Sam Fortin (who contributed his brilliant and expressive piano performance on all of the earlier tracks) during a long, immersive session. Unlike the heavier conceptual tracks, this one was more of a discovery.

Warm, groovy, and horizon-facing, it carries the energy of summer light, emotional openness, and psychedelic flow. Positioned later in the record, it offers relief – a reminder that joy and movement exist alongside depth. With rhythms and melodies that are repetitive, with an arc of progression- It feels like breathing again. There are no lyrics, only vowels are expressed, which suggests a peaceful silence away from words or thoughts carrying so much weight and edge and pain.  

There Are No Angels Born From Filth

An ambient meditation on doubt, this track confronts the fear of unworthiness. It explores the sudden spiral of believing one may never “arrive”-that heaven, transcendence, or redemption might be unreachable. Or simply the fear that a life worth living is somehow ‘not meant’ for you, maybe because of how you were raised, or what environments you were born into, or the separation of class. Essentially however one might be ‘othered’ in their life.

The title challenges purity narratives. It sits in the discomfort of questioning whether one can rise from perceived ruin. Rather than resolving the fear, the piece lets it echo — abstract, dissonant, and searching.

COME TO ME

Closing the album with a reinterpretation and cover of Björk’s ‘Come to Me’ brings the journey full circle. The song’s sensual warmth and maternal undertone feel like a long-awaited embrace.

After conflict, exile, rage, clarity, and doubt, the ending offers tenderness- not from an external savior, but from within. The longing that began the record resolves into self-held comfort. It is the mother’s hug earned that the self earns through continued survival.

The post TRACK BY TRACK: THE INTANGIBLE by Wrené appeared first on She Makes Music.

Bonniesongs makes music that is both mellow and hazy and driven and edgy, traversing art-folk, psychedelia, dream-pop and grunge. She could also be compared to art-rock and alternative artists such as PJ Harvey, Feist and Grouper for her music’s raw, hypnotic qualities, although Bonniesongs’ style sits more in a ‘ethereal grunge’ category of its own, one she’s been carving out since her 2019’s debut album Energetic Mind (Small Pond/Art As Catharsis).

Strangest Feeling is a collection of songs written amongst the limbo of the lockdowns and the transition back to life. A flavour of autumn runs through the album, intwined with themes of spells, the ocean and Halloween. The punky riffs and driving drums of ‘Olive Oil’ and the album’s second single ‘Bittersweet’ are reminders of fun and joy, with ‘Bittersweet’ offering a slice of unadulterated punky grunge in the playful ode to finding fun in chaos, inspired by Bonnie’s stay in New Zealand during the pandemic.

The album’s first single, ‘Halloween Birthday’ (notably released last year on the 31 October) is a more lo-fi affair with finger plucked melody, its autumnal hues giving off a beguiling witchy feel. Bonniesongs’ describes it, alongside the songs ‘Weightless’ and ‘Keeper’, as “the tracks on the album inspired by nostalgia, secrets and space.” Their hypnotic feel and slow tempos create a feeling of rest to the end of the album.

The album’s ‘love songs’ come in the form of art-rock pop ballad and album opener ‘Dragon’, the grungy psych-folk of ‘Whipping Bird’ and the dreamy indie-rock of title track ‘Strangest Feeling’ (a semi-finalist within two categories in the International Songwriting Competition), collectively exploring relationships with others and oneself. The haunting layers of vocals, whistles and strings of ‘Take Off’ offer the album’s most emotive song however, with Bonniesongs taking the listener on an emotional journey exploring connection to place and home, capturing the unrest of missing home when you move country. As with a few tracks on the album, the unsettling times of the pandemic lace the songs with the strange otherworldliness of that time.

On Strangest Feeling Bonniesongs tackles the most visceral of life experiences, with all their sharp edges, then wraps them in a sensory, expansive cloud of dream-like glaze. We asked Bonnie to do an in depth track by track breakdown of Strangest Feeling for us. Read it below.

Dragon

‘Dragon’ is the wild card of the album… It’s an art-rock pop ballad with big feelings. I wrote it during a composer residency at the City of Sydney Creative Studio. It’s about connecting with ourselves and others, and recognizing that we are all unique individuals with different needs—especially in relationships.

‘Dragon’ has a different tone and production than I’ve done before. It was the last addition to the album and almost didn’t make it! I had recorded the rest of the tracks months before and thought I was done but Tom and Alyx pushed me to get it on.

Strangest Feeling

A dreamy, indie rock song that is maybe my only classic love song. I wrote it as part of the online workshop School Of Song with guest lecturer Luke Temple. Our instruction was to use a lyrical cliche and write a love song. What came out was the fear of loss with loving someone. It’s a happy sad song, celebrating love and connection but also highlighting the inevitable future heartache. I recorded and produced this with Tony Buchan at Church St studios. It was one of the few tracks from the album that we recorded live together as a band. Rhys Mottley on second guitar, Freya Schack-Arnott on cello, Tully Ryan on drums, and Tony on bass and some piano tinkles. I actually sang the chorus melody wrong, but the take was so good we had to keep it! I might sing it slightly different live…

Bittersweet

I wanted a song that was energetic and fun to play with a band. It’s really driving and a bit punky grunge… The concept of the song for me is to not take life or myself too seriously and remember to stay fun and joyful, even in weird times. I wrote this song when my kiwi partner and I ended up in New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic. After the initial wave of lockdowns was over in NZ, we found ourselves at a local homebrew club where I tried an unreal Belgian cherry sour which brought me joy at a strange time! I recorded it back in Sydney with long-term collaborator David Trumpmanis between his studio in St Peters and Golden Retriever Studios. I laid down the vocals, guitar and drums before Rhys and Tom added lashings of guitar and bass. The track bleeds into a little experimental jam we named ‘Stay Fun’, produced by Alyx Dennison. Slowing down to just drums, it segues into ‘Olive Oil’.

Olive Oil

I wrote ‘Olive Oil’ while visiting Wellington, NZ. I had recently started a game with friends where we list our top 5 favourite things. Olive oil, ocean, sunshine are some things that bring me joy. I wanted a happy, lighthearted song.

I originally recorded guitar, drums and voice with David Trumpmanis but were kind of struggling to get the vibe right. It was sounding folky and flowy and needed more edge.

Alyx Dennison stepped in to help us steer the track towards its rockier fate. We sped it up, rerecorded the drums and added bass. The song features my classic rock band line up of Rhys Mottley on second guitar, Tom Botting on bass, and Tully Ryan on drums. We really liked the drums in the Deerhunter song ‘Never Stops’ and wanted that driving energy throughout the track.

Take Off

It’s a gentle haunting ballad about longing for home and place, and how you can never shake the unrest of missing home when you move country. As with a few of my album songs, this one was inspired by the strange times of the pandemic. Reflecting on our last minute decision to pack up within 24 hours and leave our home of 10 years in Sydney to live with my partners family in New Zealand. It was a strange and sad flight with the eerie apocalyptic feeling lockdowns had on us all. We then had 2 weeks of hotel quarantine upon landing!

I actually recorded the whistles and some vocals of the bridge in the garden of my families home in Ireland. If you listen very closely, you might hear my neighbours dog Nala barking! The rest was recorded with David Trumpmanis in St Peters and Golden Retriever. As usual I sing, guitar and drum and the track features cello and double bass by Freya and Tom.

Halloween Birthday

Halloween Birthday is a nostalgic song that celebrates my obsession with Halloween with a yearnful desire to have it all… Being from Ireland, where Halloween is taken very seriously, I have often been inspired by the spooky and supernatural. I’m interested in creating a sense of otherworldliness which is what Halloween is all about. The lyrics are literally inspired by childhood anxiety of getting to my friends birthday party and trick or treatery before all the good sweets were gone.

Whipping Bird

Grungy psych-folk rock desperate love song from a lonely bird’s perspective. The Australian Eastern Whipbird has one of my favourite calls. It’s one of the most characteristic sounds of the Australian bush, and is performed as a duet. The male makes the drawn-out whip crack and the female usually follows quickly with a sharp “choo”. The birds generally form long lasting relationships forming strong pair bonds.

This is a desperate love song, looking for that other, wanting them to return your call. I recorded the bones of this track in New Zealand with my partner Tom Botting in our friend Baz’s studio Bagnall Hill, Te Pahu. I played guitar, drums and voice, Tom layered some bowed doublebass, then Freya later added some cello recorded with Tony

Buchen. Finally I added “to know where you are would be enough” vocals with David Trumpmanis in Sydney and some Whipbird call recordings made by Adam Gottlieb.

Weightless

A spacious track with ambient drones and loops underneath wispy vocals intersected by heavy thrums and banshee like vocals of the final chorus, then back to floating and whirling in space… This was another School Of Song homework, we were tasked to write a song about space. It’s my most ambient track of the album. I wanted to explore heavy and light and emulate drifting off into the cosmos. I recorded an extra 10 minutes of improvised loops of vocals and effects but it didn’t make the album. Maybe one day I’ll release it as a meditation track!

I started with making the live loops ( with my Boss RC505MK2 pedal) as a bass, and made a drone with guitar pedals. Then I layered the melody and guitar part, followed by some watery mallets on the toms, and then Freya and Tom recorded some arco cello and doublebass. Recorded with Tony Buchen.

Keeper

I had planned to record this track with the band, but I had some time at the end of a studio day with Tony Buchen and decided to do a quick live take. The result is the most vulnerable and bare track on the album. I hardly ever play piano and was quite nervous to play and sing, which maybe added to the fragility of the sound. It’s a song about keeping secrets and being kept out of secrets. Featuring Freya on the cello. It has a bit of a twisted circus waltzy undertone…

The post TRACK BY TRACK: Strangest Feeling by Bonniesongs appeared first on She Makes Music.

The thirteen-song collection was penned by The Velveteers after a particularly grueling stretch of life on the road – while navigating the typically-unspoken tolls of an industry that can be far from compassionate. A Million Knives follows The Velveteers’ 2021 debut album Nightmare Daydream, which quickly found them playing stadium stages with Smashing Pumpkins, Guns N’ Roses and more. The trio are currently bringing the new album to their live shows across the Western US for the first time.

We asked frontwoman Demi to do an in depth track by track breakdown of A Million Knives for us. Read it below.

All These Little Things
This is one of my all time favorite riffs to play. I wrote the riff after a terrible breakup when I was 19 and the riff stayed with me all these years but I never had any lyrics for it. One day the lyrics just came to me and it definitely felt like I was holding in all these feelings from when I was 19. It was like collaborating with past versions of myself in certain ways and finally putting into words what a painful situation it was.

Suck The Cherry
I wrote ‘Suck The Cherry’ on a hot summer’s day when I was locked away in a cabin in Paonia, CO. All I had with me for entertainment was my guitar, a notebook, a little drum machine and some cherries I had picked up earlier that day from the farmers market. I was messing around on the drum machine and found this beat that ended up influencing the entire song. It had this pop, dance-y feel but at the same time, punk attitude. It had this chorus that was just so fun to sing and it would always get stuck in my head.

See Your Face
This song is about seeing somebody you really don’t wanna see. We tracked this in one take. For this song and many others on the album I went direct-in for my guitar instead of through an amp to get more of a crunchy tone.

Bound In Leather
‘Bound In Leather’ to me feels like looking through a kaleidoscope. I absolutely love this song. We wrote this song with Greg Cartwright (The Oblivians) and Dan Auerbach in Nashville. I came into the studio with this guitar riff and we just flowed with it from there. I loved how the song had such a dancey feel. When we started coming up with the lyrics, I was singing and Dan kept telling me to sing higher and higher. Singing falsetto is something I don’t normally do but it just felt really right for the song. That was a moment where Dan pushed me to do something I hadn’t done before or maybe wouldn’t have ever thought of. I even ended up singing falsetto on a couple other songs too. I hope everybody loves dancing to this song as much as I do.

On and On
‘On and On’ is another really dancey track. We wanted to make sure the song was super heavy but also wanted to take some inspiration from more pop artists like Lady Gaga. It has some drum machines on it, which was something we had been really wanting to incorporate into our sound. Nick Bockrath from Cage The Elephant made a guest appearance on this song with some spacey background guitar sounds.

Sweet Little Hearts
This song feels like the heart of the album to me. This was actually the first song I wrote for the album and it instantly set the stage of what I wanted to talk about and how I was feeling. We all come into the world so pure and as life progresses we all become jaded in one way or another. It’s about grieving your childhood and realizing no matter how hard you try to protect yourself- your heart is gonna break and there’s nothing you can really do about that. It’s a call to nurture your inner child because the world sure isn’t going to do it for you.

A Million Knives
When we recorded the album we went in with around 25 songs. We didn’t have enough time to record everything. ‘A Million Knives’ was one of those songs that didn’t get recorded. We left Nashville super excited about everything we tracked but then we got our initial mixes back a couple months later and we felt like something was missing. We took a trip to Nashville to finish up some mixing and on a whim ended up recording ‘A Million Knives,’ probably in about an hour or less. This song is about the pain of loving something so much that it hurts. I’d do anything for music and art but how much am I willing to put myself through? If you listen close enough you can hear my real heartbeat on this song.

Moonchild
We came into the studio with multiple songs over 5 minutes and Dan definitely thought we were insane for that haha. This was the 5 minute song that actually made the cut though. I love playing this song and if you’ve come to any of our live shows chances are you’ve probably heard it before. It was fun to finally hear this captured in a studio recording.

Take it from The Top
This song was written from more of an imagined perspective and very much inspired by the glam of Hollywood. Inspired by someone who desperately wants to be somebody. Desperately wants to be liked and loved but in turn is lonely in their pursuits of success. Baby wrote almost all the synth and keyboard parts on this album, but the synth on this chorus is one of my favorites!

Go Fly Away
The Black Keys came into the studio one day and had this keyboard sample that we just worked off of. It was one of those songs that came to us. As far as the inspiration behind it, it just all came at once. I think a lot of it had to do with just wanting to run away. That’s where my head space was when I wrote it was just wanting to run away and get away from everything.

Up Here
‘Up Here’ is a song about reclaiming your power and letting go. Towards the end of the album I feel like there is a lot of cathartic release. “the world at my feet, and the stars in my palms” felt symbolic and powerful. It was something I needed to be reminded of. For production we drenched the song with reverb to really give it a dreamy feel and we had Nick Bockrath from Cage The Elephant add some lap steel to tie it together.

Heaven
Heaven is all about the drama. This song took many forms and it was just a couple days before we arrived in Nashville to record that it finally felt right. Baby and I will stop at nothing and often times drive ourselves crazy if we believe in something and this song always felt important and magical to us.

Fix Me
A few days before we left to record Baby was going through demos I had sent earlier in the year and ‘Fix Me’ just felt like it was calling out to us. The choruses on this song are so big and epic, it felt like the perfect way to end the album. You’ll hear throughout the album what I call the “A Million Knives” theme which happens in the chorus of ‘Fix Me’ and also in ‘A Million Knives’. The album is dedicated to my grandmother, Marjorie Lu. In the very beginning and end of ‘Fix Me,’ the music box you hear playing was hers.

The post TRACK BY TRACK: A Million Knives by The Velveteers appeared first on She Makes Music.

Written, produced, and mixed by Gorgeous Dykes, with mastering by Angel Marcloid of Fire Toolz, In the Meantime is a soundtrack for women and working-class dreamers who know what they want and aren’t afraid to go after it.

This latest release explores dealing with depression and isolation, sentiments that have become all too familiar in the wake of the pandemic and economic downturn, ultimately leading towards revelations of self-discovery and reinvention. They incorporate romantic WLW themes in their tracks – after learning how to better rely on one another – a representation that they believe is important and should be made more prominent and available. The lead single, ‘Aine’s Gate,’ embodies this vision with hopeful chord changes and optimistic, yet subtly melancholic lyrics. Watch the video below.

We asked Ana and Lucy to do an in depth track by track breakdown of the EP for us. Read it below.

Aine’s Gate
Like most of our songs, this one came about from an initial jam session between us. We were feeling inspired by some french house/pop and wanted to capture the feeling of permanently being on vacation, which really just stems from our longing to escape the capitalistic hellhole we live in. We wrote it while we were overworked and trapped in a constant grind that was making us extremely tired and unhappy, and wanted to create a kind of magical world we could imagine ourselves in to escape from that feeling. On that note, this song was also our first venture into learning how to mix ourselves due to lack of funding. This forced us to learn on our own and made us better musicians. So in a way, we can thank the brutal cold heart of capitalism for that at least!

When it Hurts
This track is about not letting depression and anxiety get the best of you. Lyrically, this song was inspired by an episode of Star vs the Forces of Evil where one of the main characters, Marco, wanted to use magic to erase his painful memories. He sought the help of an older magical girl who told him that even painful feelings have their worth. We were also playing a lot of VA-11 Hall-A at the time, a cyberpunk bartender simulator video game, while we were cooped up during the height of the pandemic, which also had a strong impact on the composition of this track. We wanted to juxtapose the harsh noise driven bass and grungy guitar with a very pretty, melodically driven bridge that instills a hopefulness into the listener. Kind of like saying, if you get through the initial pain there is something beautiful waiting after, although fleeting. But ultimately, it’s worth feeling.

Superconscious
This song talks about isolation and feeling the weight of your mortality while not being where you want to be, goal-wise. We wanted to do some introspection to find an opportunity to grow while in this period of limbo. We are very spiritual people and turned to that while looking inward. This song underwent a lot of changes, and initially was pretty bare compared to how it sounds now. We reflected our own personal growth into the song by adding new layers, changing the beat around, and messing with the key until things really started to fit.

In Her Space
We wrote this song during the summer after getting inspired by the bass line in “Tonight Is the Night” by Betty Wright. We thought the world could use more WLW songs so this is our contribution. We wanted to create a celestial and dreamy environment as a soundtrack for any lesbians who are on a date and/or wooin’ their special lady.

The post TRACK BY TRACK: In The Meantime EP by Gorgeous Dykes appeared first on She Makes Music.

In November, The Wisely Brothers will play their first ever UK live dates, and ahead of their visit they have released their brand new EP, Think Wisely. About thethe EP, the band say: “We made the EP while imagining to deliver our music to people in countries far away. Even though our expression is poor and clumsy, we hope our music/sound will make people feel encouraged. And we believe that will give us encouragement in the end. Also, the EP is our determination to be ourself in the music scene, to never stop thinking / taking care of what happens to us and around us (in positive way) and to continue the band.”

We asked the trio to break down the EP track by track for us. Read it below.

Two minutes
In Japan, it’s said that seeing spider in the morning brings luck to you. It was a inspiration to make this song. The song was originally 2 different song ideas which were made in the studio session. We put together and it turned out to be fun and unique aerobics-esque music.

Serious and thrilling, but also comical and strange. Having 2 aspects in a song is a unique point of the song.

Even in the studio session, we had never had this type of sound and atmosphere. We can say that we discovered new side of us with help from the recording engineer, Mr. Hiroshi Ikeda, at hmc studio.

The weird chop and edit intro sound was made from lip vibration of Izumi (bassist), which she coincidentally emitted in the recording session.

Julia
Julia is a song about imaginary lady but we even don’t know about her and are still wondering who she is. We aimed to have the song dreamy, unique, romantic atmosphere from the beginning of jam session, then trim it down to make sharp and solid.

Whispering poetry reading vocals leads the listeners into dream deeply.

Mayer Hawthorne was the reference when we started making the song.

Sonomama
“Sonomama” means “Stay Still” in Japanese.

This is our style of skit (interlude) that we really wanted to make. The tune is light and bouncy but also has got our rebel spirit and innocence in it.

Since we formed the band 12 years ago, we’ve been really enjoying the process of making songs through jam session in rehearsal studio. We have never intended to make perfect and beautiful songs. We have rather enjoyed sound experimentation and process of built up unseen (unheard) music. The song is a proof how we’ve progressed as a band.

Purple
This song is about colors in our mind, verbal expression and lack of vocabulary. Yo La Tengo and Lou Reed were inspiration and reference.

The song was really a simple and plain at the beginning and we loved it. But suddenly we remembered that we wanted to enjoy the recordings and make unique sounds. So we tried various things such like singing in poetry reading style and insert a break in the middle of the song.

The music may make you feel uncomfortable and weird but at the same time you will realize that the song is very addictive and make you want to listen to it again.

The post TRACK BY TRACK BREAKDOWN: Think Wisely EP by The Wisely Brothers appeared first on She Makes Music.

Even though the album explores a wide variety of emotions, the theme of the album is growing up and gaining a more nuanced view on life and all the ups and downs that comes with it.

Hanne notes: “These songs are my stories and experiences, and I’m so thrilled to share this album with the world. I’ve worked on the album for about two years and put my heart and soul into it. I’ve written some of the songs alone, but I have also been fortunate enough to collaborate with some of my favourite songwriters and producers such as Jim Eliot, whom I’ve worked with for a long time”.

We asked Hanne to do an in depth track by track breakdown of The Art of Growing Up for us. Read it below.

The Art of Growing Up
Ah, the title track! This was one of the first songs I wrote for the album, and it set the tone for the entire project. These past few years I’ve noticed a changed in myself. I’m feeling more comfortable in own skin and I’m finally starting to feel like I’m on my own team. I thought it would be a great concept for my album, as a lot of the songs on the album are about maturing, growing and learning to navigate life. This song is so fun, and has an epic hook.

It’s Always Been You
This is the last song I wrote for the album. I was in a rush, and had like two days to write it and record the vocals for it. I wrote the song about my boyfriend and how I feel like I have known him before, in another life. It’s probably the most romantic song on the album and right now, it’s my favourite track. It feels like a warm hug. I wrote this one alone and it’s recorded in my home studio.

Emotions
In ‘Emotions’ I’m channeling my inner Robyn. It’s a song that came about when I was in the UK working in a studio there. It’s basically a song about being heartbroken in the club, seeing your former lover with someone else. An emotional, yet dancy synth-pop track.

Even If It Breaks My Heart
This song was inspired by a movie that I watched. I can’t remember the name of it, but it made an impact. I wrote this song about loving someone deeply, but having to let them go due to them having problems with their mental health. My favourite part of the song is the gospel-like choir at the end.

It’s Your Eyes I See
Without doubt the saddest song the album. It’s the oldest one as well. I wrote this with some of favourite co-writers. I started writing it at home in my home studio, but got stuck. So I brought it with me to a studio in the UK and ended up finishing the song there. It’s a very emotional song about losing a loved one.

Snowflake
Probably the most “quiet” song on the album. It’s a bit spooky to be honest, it just has that haunting sound. I wrote it about how some people just seem to slip through your hands, vanishing, like a snowflake. It’s a song about letting go of those people, yet wishing they would stay.

Good Days
This is the proof I also write upbeat songs, hehe. This one’s a bop. It’s playful, sassy and “in your face”. It’s a song about demanding to be heard and respected in a relationship.

If I Were To Lose You
The song is about the excruciating fear of losing someone you love. I have so much anxiety around that, and I wanted to express in a song how much I appreciate the ones closest to me, and how lost I would be without them. I think it’s important to never take people for granted, and to remind yourself that you’re not going to have them forever. .

After You
The idea for the song came to me out of the blue one day. I was thinking about how sad it is that some people don’t get to see their loved ones grow up, and their loved ones doesn’t get to share their lives with them anymore. There are so many milestones that you’d love to share with them, but can’t. So I wrote a song about it. It ended up as a really pretty piano and vocals ballad.

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SCP, an acronym for “sugar-coated pill,” is the band’s third EP which follows up their sophomore EP, Plastic World, released back in 2018.

The EP shines a light on the trio’s growth through the addition of 80’s style synths, punchy drums and a groovy bass, all the while keeping their core pop-punk energetic guitars.

We asked the band to break the EP down track by track for us. Read it below.

Night
Night is the first concrete song that came out. It set the tone. During covid-19, we had written a lot of little things. We were satisfied but we felt that it was not enough. Something was missing. Then something bad happened to me, I went to the hospital, I almost died there, but in the meantime, Geremia was unknowingly writing the hook of our first single. When I listened to it, it was obvious. I knew right away what to do, I was very inspired by the vibe. The melody, the lyrics, the production, everything was simple and flowing. It is the first song we worked on with Bertrand Poncet at Alias studio and actually our very first time working with a producer.This song is very important for us because it allowed us to see more clearly in our writing but also reminds us through the lyrics how much life and all that it brings us is a treasure that we must cherish before I close my eyes.

Murder
We weren’t really looking to do a song like that. I was exploring synths sounds, learning about them when suddenly I came across this bass sound that I thought was pretty cool. I randomly pressed a G# on my midi keyboard. So I thought, what if I just imitate the way an arpeggiator plays just to see how it would sound. And then it went like ta ta ta ta ta ta ta and I was like “Woah so cool, that really inspires me!»Sometimes it really starts from nothing. That’s the magic of it all!Then the melody for the verse came pretty much instinctively and were mixed of real lyrics and chewed up lyrics. Quickly, I had the verses, the chorus with 60% of the lyrics. I was really inspired but definitely not ready to finish it. I didn’t work on it for 8 months. Then one day it finally happened, Murder was done.Sometimes you just have to give it time even if it started pretty well.

Fantasy
I don’t know why but this song often makes me think of the jungle. Don’t ask me why.Fantasy is a bit like a strange dream, a bit crazy and whimsical.Again, it was finding the synth hook that inspired us to write everything else. It was very difficult to be inspired during Covid-19 by anything other than sadness and depression. So I tried to imagine my tiny apartment in a different way, like a child. I imagined that I was in a daydream and that everything was moving and changing around me. That there were crazy characters and that my life was like a strange dream, like in Alice in Wonderland.No I assure you I am not crazy. But it was necessary to boost my imagination a little, especially when spending most of the time locked up.Finding meaning in the lyrics often inspires me to build the song. I like to talk about hope, renewal, self motivation. So this song is a bit of all that.

SCP
SCP which stands for “Sugar Coated Pill” is the last song we wrote. On this track, we wrote the instrumental first and for a while I had no inspiration to write any lyrics. I thought the song was too poppy, too catchy for what I wanted to express in words. Finally after a lot of listens, each time I found that there was a sarcastic side. I didn’t really want to write about something sarcastic but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. At the same time I was watching a show called “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” where the character reminded me of a part I had played when I was doing theater. After talking to the guys, they had the same feeling I had about that track. And that’s how we wrote the lyrics for SCP.In terms of instrumental, the construction was very much done around the little guitar gimmick and the drums. For the record, I was very sceptical at the beginning about this song, I couldn’t get into it. But I’m very happy with what we managed to do with it in the end. Sometimes you have to trust blindly.

Lucky Charm
Lucky Charm is the oldest song. It was just a piano song at the start. I didn’t know at that time what direction to take it but I didn’t want it to be just that. We thought together about how to make it different but every time, it was pretty much a fail.. I was thinking too logically.It wasn’t “what would I do with this piano version” but rather “what wouldn’t I do with this piano version”. So I started stepping out of my comfort zone and worked on it in a way that I wouldn’t have thought at first.It was difficult because I had no idea how to do it since I was going against my inspiration. But at the same time, my inspiration was leading me nowhere for this song. So I didn’t have much to lose. Bertrand added the perfect touch and the right one to conclude this track. In the end, without knowing it, it was the version I had always imagined for this song. Very different from the rest of the EP but very stimulating as an artist. Lyrically, I was thinking of all those stories of people who have loved each other all their lives and I pictured them, probably remembering their past life together, their love for each other.

All The Way Up
All the way up was thought to be an intro song of an album or EP and it is finally the song which closes this EP.For this one, we wanted something that felt like a fresh start. That excitement when something new is waiting for you. That desire to embrace life, new challenges, new paths. It’s a great feeling. Very precious.I started with this little guitar intro and Jessie followed up with some toms. We love how toms could sound. It’s pretty powerful, especially live.This track was also an opportunity to geek out on analog synths. It was the first song we tested out to see if we felt comfortable with using synths. I always wanted to dig into it but never had the opportunity. This track was the right one.For the record, I had a preset on my DAW called All The Way Up and that’s how I found the title. Actually, I didn’t have any lyrics. I knew what I wanted to talk about but I needed like a «sign» , finding the title paved the way…up……

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thea’s debut album is made up of melodic pop songs that take unexpected leaps and fit her magical voice perfectly, helped by electronics and samples that modernize a traditional acoustic singer-songwriter sound. You can hear Joni’s heart beats in her writing, Regina Spektor’s tender humour in her lyrics.

We asked thea to do an in depth track by track breakdown of While He Is Still Asleep for us. Read it below.

I Wrote You Letters (fieldrec from andrews porch)

A field recording of me and my boyfriend Gudmund (playing the the guitar) trying to figure out how to arrange the song, recorded on my phone from the porch of andrew, in Alhambra, Los Angeles. Feels like a time-capsule of the magical days, making the record.

Tell Me About It:

The first time I listened to this song when finished, in Andrew’s studio I felt whole. If I died the next day, it would be ok. It was first made by being alone in my room in Oslo, fooling around with my op1. I Remember I found a really nice synth sound and put my phone in recording mode to record my improvisation. I then showed it to Jørgen Kasbo, and we tried to play it, and finish the structures. I remember listening to the phone-recording after our rehearsal thinking “This feels like a new beginning. I really love this”. I then worked a loooot on finding the right words to it, getting help from Sidsel Endresen, Sophie De Rohan and Gudmund Guren with some sentences here and there, so it would feel right. I wanted it to be a song for the times when I’m a bit lost, and need someone to get me back into my own skin again. The last part with the lyrics was something I added in LA, that I had written in my notes – and happened quite spontaneously, when I felt it was lacking a part. I still remember recording this song in the night in Record Plant, singing this upon the last part and feeling like it all came together.

While He Is Still Asleep

The song that was the start of making this record. The first song I wrote on the guitar – and the first song that made me understand that I had a solo-project within me and a lot of stories that had to get out, in order to move on. WHISA as I call it is a short glimpse into your neighbour’s apartment. It’s a melancholic song about heartbreak, love, and the timeless early signs of erosion of a relationship. I had just bought a guitar, tried to learn how to play, and out of that this song appeared. I saw this story and couple clearly in my mind, and for some years I thought I had made it all up. Years later, I realize there may be some hidden truths from my own life at that time in it as well.

Save Me For Later

“He shook his head said: it’s early. She shook her head, said: it’s late. Life as they knew called for changes. She grabbed her coat, he said wait”. We recorded this outside in Andrews porch, with wind-chimes and the sound of Alhambra. About summer and long-distance relationships, weather, and feeling like a stranger in each other’s worlds, based on a true story.

Cat From Molina

“The cat from moletto never leaves you alone”. A song I produced myself in Copenhagen while procrastinating a school-task. I had the lyrics written from when I was in Italy, and then asked my friend Bjørn Helge if he could send me some beats or something I could create something to. He then sent me this loop, and I improvised some Norwegian lyrics on it, that was a bit wack. I added some vocal layers, and one field-recording from when I was in France with my friends, having a bit of a cold in the beginning – singing straight into my logic project using the built-in microphone. I brought it to LA and figured out we should have some English lyrics on it – and then I found this old text and tried to make it fit the rhythm from the last version. I then added many voices and had tons of fun while adding layer by layer, and that was it. I really like the vibe of this one, and at the same time as it is a bit less “clear” than the other songs on the album, it is one of the scariest lyrics I have written, making up another person’s side of a story. I love the vibe of it!

I Wrote You Letters (piano version)

A longer piano-version of the first song, in a different vibe. I wanted it to contain the feeling of you listening to someone listening to the song on an old record. I asked Bjørn-Helge gammelsæther to add piano to it, and he also recorded the room and his hands when playing it. It starts off by those sounds that could sound like someone putting down a vinyl in the vinyl-player. It is about looking back, triggered by seeing someone who you used to be close to being a stranger, remembering every possible path you could have taken, thinking about the different outcomes and how different your life could have been. At the same time coming to terms and toasting to the times you wasted by looking back at something.

A song about looking back at your life, and seeing someone that reminds you of a part of your life long time ago, that feels like a different life. about all the different life-choices made, different paths that you could have taken, how different your life would have been. It is sort of a toast for all the times untraveled, and how life has unraveled from your past choices. For all the time you have spent looking back, and you wanting to close that door – and salute how you ended up with the life you now have.

17th Time That Autumn

One of my favorite songs I have written – but in a long stretched arrangement. I first played this song with 8 saxophones, and where I could easily have recorded the guitar-version I wanted to try and re-make this version for the record. It is about someone who never wants to let go of the last bit of a relationship, making the other person sit on the fence and wait for the other one to be interested. It is about the selfish side of affection, where you want someone whenever you need it, but only when you need it. Very selective love, and physical, sometimes egoistic love. A song about two of my friends. At the same time as the main character is on its solo-travel, they is being in between wanting to be alone – sometimes being quite lonely, then wanting someone, and by that never really freeing the person they don’t really love.

Garden Song:

I wrote this song some years ago. Garden Song is about thinking that a person is better off without you, and the other one thinking that you cannot decide what is best for the other person. At first the other person in this story disagrees, but in this story you could see how the couple later split up and meet each other again. About someone being afraid to be a burden so that person decides it is better for the other person to not go on alone. Like saying “just go” even though you want someone to stay, because you don’t want to be a burden. And you want the person to do what they want – and you feel like you are the person responsible for them not living their best life.

At first I thought I had written a story about a woman/or man getting a serious disease or dementia and that when knowing her life will be hard – and that their future together will be very different and hard for her partner, she want her partner to live his best life and that it’s best to she lets him go even though all she wants is being with him – and visa versa.

But then the story got more personal, noticing it partly it’s also about someone struggling with something – thinking everyone is better off without her/him – when really that person doesn’t see how they’re not.

I have struggled with the form of this song for so long, and when we worked on it in LA this was the only song that we just couldn’t figure out. We tried so many different forms and in the end Andrew wanted to let it go, but when I got home I just couldn’t give it up. So I got my friend Andrea to record me adding some acoustic guitar and my friend Håkon to put some violin on it on the choruses recorded by Andrea Horstad – and I wanted for it to sound like some seagulls screaming – for it to be the pain of letting someone go because it is easier than asking them to stay with you. Then I had a session with Preben Sælid that added some texture with reversing håkons violin, And then me and my friend Knærten Simonsen worked on it to see if we could make it work.

I love the choruses – especially the last chorus, even though it’s maybe the first song where all my friends like it but I don’t really like the verses at all. Haha.

Jennifer

Jennifer is a heavy song, but at the same time – just a frame from the inside of someone’s apartment. I watched my neighbours’ confrontation, and then imagined the ultimate breakup where the main character is (almost unbelievably) happy for her partner to fall in love behind her back. The most important thing for this person is for Jennifer to be happy, and free to leave if that is what feels right to her. Went through different recordings of this one as well.

Zuzana

HAHA THERE ARE SO MANY SAD STORIES IN THIS RECORD. Zuzana is a short short song that sort of just flew in the window with melody and lyrics at the same time. For a short period I tried to make it a longer song, but after some time I just had to realize that it was supposed to be a micro-song.

Word On The Street
I wrote word on the street in London after moving abroad, to Copenhagen, being alone in a new country for the first time without any security net, biking through rain and wind and gray skies the first semester. It fell out in an improvisation in London with my friend and guitar player Jørgen Kasbo in a break the same autumn. In London it was sunny with blue skies for a change. After It had been sooo grey, and cloudy and rainy in Copenhagen for a period that felt like a lifetime, the sun and blue skies made me understand how depressed I had been. My mind had soaked up all the bad weather, and this song just fell out in a second.

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Through the course of writing, refining and recording their debut full-length album, Katy Guillen & The Drive delved into the catharsis of a bittersweet moment in time. After six years of persistent touring, performing and writing with her previous project, Katy Guillen & The Girls, singer, songwriter and guitarist Guillen found herself at the painful end of two long-term relationships. With their burgeoning career put on hold, Guillen and long-time drummer Stephanie Williams set off for uncharted territory as Katy Guillen & The Drive. While distinguishing themselves as a new group with a fresh sound, the two continued crafting their musical and personal identities together.

On Another One Gained, Guillen expresses a dichotomy of feelings through earnest ruminations on self-doubt, grief, reckoning and rebirth. Accompanied by Williams’ melodically exacting rhythms, her emotive guitar playing aligns with the lyrics to meet at the crossroads of suffering and silver linings.“ Producer/engineer Kevin Ratterman laid in vibrant textures tailored to each song, expanding on their gravitas with fuzzy electric and chiming 12-string acoustic guitars, oscillating tempos, warm vocal stacks, soul-stirring Wurlitzers, booming timpanis and more. As they add definitionand tension to the album’s themes of duality, this sonic landscape also announces a dauntless new direction for Katy Guillen & The Drive.

Bookended by admonitions of hope, Another One Gained reminds us that renewal and resolution can arrive amidst chaos and calamity. The album is a harrowing musical journey from a band on the rise, cultivated by two artists who celebrate self-expression, surrender, dedication to their personal identities, and the abiding embrace of change. Its atmospheric conclusion gives listeners a chance to exhale, emboldening them to unearth their own inner strengths and hold out for brighter days.

We asked Katy to do an in depth track by track breakdown of Another One Gained for us. Read it below.

Another One Gained

The album’s title track provides the silver lining that comes from the loss of a significant relationship. It’s about the duality of finally arriving at a place of relief and clarity, while also accepting the somber reality of saying goodbye to someone I loved. I had come to the realization that this goodbye didn’t have to be a sorrowful ordeal, but rather an opportunity for both of us to move forward in happier, healthier ways. We explore this range of emotion through oscillating tempos, warm harmonies and vibrant textures.

Discoloration

In the middle of a breakup, the end of my previous band, a transitory living situation and the sudden loss of my sweet pet, everything seemed to be crashing down around me. As the title suggests, ‘Discoloration’ encapsulates the gray mental space I occupied during that season of intense change. The verses reflect on an inner turmoil – that “dark dense fog” that left me overwhelmed and depressed – and working my way through it. Determination and self-assurance shine through in the chorus, with a sonic lift in the bridge, representing a brighter state of mind. Nothing ever stays the same, but it changes highways. In the face of disruption, you have to be ready to change with it.

Bottom Of Your Belly

‘Bottom Of Your Belly’ is an anthemic push forward to overcome fear and embrace the unknown. Written in a time of transition, the song is about that agonizing pit in the core of our stomachs – the physical manifestation of my own self-doubt, loneliness and mistrust. I started writing the song out of a sense of desperation. While it begins as an outcry of feeling lost and afraid, the song culminates in courage. The bridge and guitar solo represent an awakening of inner strength, where I welcome change and the feelings of uncertainty that come with it with open arms.

Harsh Realization

‘Harsh Realization’ is about a growing awareness of the truths I had been holding inside, and the need to act on them. It’s about taking steps to identify, accept and change what had become a messy snowball of unfortunate circumstances. Through the song, I accept the difficulty of these changes for myself and those I care about, and realize that I had put them off to circumvent the inevitable fallout. Ultimately, it’s about looking at the big picture and maintaining my mental health in spite of the short-term anguish.

Set In Stone

The album’s first single marks the beginning of a major life transition. Written shortly after my long-time band announced our final show, I was struggling to find the next step in my career and personal life, while longing for a past sense of stability. The song’s vigorous structure and deliberate rhythms convey that feeling of defeat and darkness, but with a sense of resolution and surrender through the guitar solo – a favorite moment on the record for me. While it started on shaky ground, coming out on the other side meant starting over and building something new.

Avoiding Every Sound

‘Avoiding Every Sound’ is a phrase I created to describe ignoring the inevitable pain of breaking someone’s heart. It means to hide from every possible sensory feeling to the point of becoming numb, and reflects on a time I found myself evading a glaring truth to its breaking point. Stress and pressure had been mounting for a very long time. The song’s soundscape intensifies to capture the tension and anxiety that was building within me at this time.

Because It’s Blue

‘Because It’s Blue’ expresses my tendency of being drawn to darkness and depression — a trait that kept me from living my happiest and most authentic life. The song’s bittersweet tone reflects on the realization that I had gradually lost my sense of self and identity, putting others’ needs before my own and losing myself in a relationship and career. Through its cathartic mood, the song is about letting go of regret, frustration and anger, and working toward becoming my most genuine self.

How To Live

The words of a former partner, “I don’t know how to live without love in my life,” were the inspiration for this song. A simple but powerful statement, it was both relatable and strikingly heartbreaking. Written shortly after my former band’s final tour, the song embodies the agony of saying goodbye to a major life chapter. It captures the alarming feeling of finding yourself at the end of the line with someone, and realizing that everything you shared with them is essentially over. The overarching theme is a foundational truth — no one can live without some form of love in their life, whatever form that may take.

Nothing Comes Close

No other feeling can compare to the loss of a dear loved one. This song was written as I grappled with the untimely passing of my Uncle Wolfie – a joyful, warm and unforgettable presence. Our family is very close, and we always shared a special connection. I wrote the song for my cousins and aunt because I couldn’t imagine the pain they were experiencing, and hoped this would contribute to honoring his memory.

Different

I wanted the record to go out on a hopeful note, after so many instances of struggle, heaviness and transition. ‘Different’ was written when I had fallen in love with someone under what felt like an impossible scenario. The only affecting thing I could do was write this song, which poured out in about 10 minutes. It’s a love song that clings to the hope that our circumstances would one day bring us together. The downbeat marks the album’s resolution, and a sonic expression of catharsis, acceptance, and moving forward into a more renewed, positive space.

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BRYDE says of Still, “It’s about love. Different kinds of love” (as the bracketed song titles hint). However, do not expect an album full of Romcom cliches, for Still is a deep psychological ride, one that celebrates the importance of love but also breaks down our societal pre-conceptions of what it can and should be. As BRYDE expands “So many love songs glorify the idea of throwing yourself at someone, the drama and pain of love, I wanted to explore healthier ways to think about love and start a conversion about it.”

Still was recorded at Strongrooms, London and produced in the main by BRYDE and Jim Wallis, with the exception of ‘Hill I’m Dying On (unrequited)’, ‘Dancing in the Middle (romantic)’ and ‘Headlong (cosmic)’ which were produced remotely via North Carolina by lifelong friend and musical collaborator Max Jury, alongside Stacey Harden; and ‘Algorithms (cyber)’ and ‘Conversations (conditional)‘ which were produced by Danny Morgan Ball remotely via Belfast.

We asked BRYDE to do an in depth track by track breakdown of Still for us. Read it below.

Algorithms

An algorithm is a set of rules to follow in order to solve a problem. At times life has regrettably felt to me like a problem to be solved. This story is a surreal story about the treacherous terrain of online dating with its familiar combination of hope and disappointment. Like checking a real life notification. An ode to leaving behind the games of that digital world. And in the meantime being a bit freaked out by the adverts for random things that follow you around the internet after you mention them once.

Hill I’m Dying On

A classic story of unrequited love. Wanting someone who is emotionally unavailable. This song was the instigator behind the concept of the album. I’m trying to approach everything very differently these days so couldn’t be this openly invested in the drama of wanting someone I couldn’t have, without splashing a disclaimer across it. And so the idea of naming the different kinds of love came about.

State We’re In

The soundtrack to a long, liberating drive away from a depressing situation. Once out of town, I love driving. For me it feels empowering and absorbing. This song is about learning what makes you tick, what makes you feel alive and what makes you feel depleted. It’s about rolling with the punches and learning to let go and play along when there’s nothing else you can do.

Silver Suns

Divine Love doesn’t have to be a religious idea. God can be the universe or the Earth or the stillness inside you. Divine love can be another type of self love, unconditional and infinite. My definition of it is Self Acceptance.

Dancing in the middle

This one is pretty self explanatory. It’s probably the most direct love song I’ve ever written.

Backless Dress

This is the most personal song on the record. It’s my only real lockdown song and it’s about a lethal combination of London sunshine, cheap wine, and dopamine.

Headlong

A story about falling in love with poetry and the cosmos at the same time.

Still

I think I was trying to cram everything I’ve learnt about love, psychology and spirituality into one song here. The biggest lesson for me was to let go of judgements and realise that there isn’t going to be a one size fits all solution to human suffering and whether you find your way through via Buddhism, Allah, Ram Dass or Oprah, every path, mode and iteration holds truth. The end of this song is like a mantra to non-judgment.

Epilogue

It’s about knowing someone, their flaws, their annoying traits, make-up free and hair unwashed and wanting them anyway. It wants nothing but the best for that person and is never jealous of their achievements. For me, love is doing things that you know will make your love smile. I had several muses making this album but have only recently found someone to actually apply this to.

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