Track Of The Day: Clara Byrne – ‘To Rome’

A soft, nostalgic tribute to her hometown of Bray in County Wicklow, Irish musician Clara Byrne has shared her latest single ‘To Rome’. The second single from her upcoming album Handstitched, the track reflects on Clara’s trip to the ancient city and documents the thoughts she had about her hometown whilst wandering amongst its famous ruins.

“Bray, this seaside town has been there to meet me at all the different stages of my life. From my first day of school, to my first love, to my first gig, each patch of the town holds a memory,” Clara explains. “During a particularly bad slump in inspiration, a dry patch in creativity, and even a lull in passion for music, I received a lump sum of emergency tax back. Though I was a struggling student at the time I decided to head off and explore the city of Rome as a stark contrast to my little town. I brought a pen and paper for company and this song is the result of that trip.”

‘To Rome’ is the result of Clara’s journey to Italy, full of gentle alt-folk guitar sounds and her rich vocals. “The evidence of the cities previous empire is scattered on every street corner in the form of these beautiful ruins. In a strange way, it gave me hope,” Clara continues. “Those living during that time must have seen their world as I see mine; seemingly impossible to change and difficult to imagine the end of all they’ve ever known. I think the contenders for the biggest impact in your life feel like they could go on forever. Whether it’s a relationship, the current political system, a pandemic or a great empire, nothing lasts.”

Watch the accompanying video for ‘To Rome’ directed by Bray artist Ed Cleary below.

Follow Clara Byrne on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Oh Baby – ‘Cruel Intention’

‘Cruel Intention’ is the first single from synth pop duo Oh Baby’s forthcoming album Hey Genius, due for release in July. The track is a cool swagger of slick synths and drum loops with an eighties sensibility that will have you reaching for your finest pair of shoulder pads.

Lyrically, ‘Cruel Intention’ takes the perspective of a lover hopelessly doomed to return to the arms of a person determined to set everything on fire. Jen Devereaux’s vocal has hints of Alison Goldfrapp and saunters stylishly over Rick Hornby’s staccato synth basslines like a clubgoer sliding onto the dancefloor hoping to shake it all off. The despondent refrain “I knew you would” perfectly captures the lover’s expected disappointment and lingers long after the track has finished like a metaphorical earwig for the lovelorn.

The track’s synth textures are peppered with counterpoint guitar melody and build in waves throughout, culminating with the lover asking “if I go to the ocean, will you follow me?”. As the foreboding track title suggests, we all know how this one ends. The rejected lover aims for disconnection instead and the song’s instrumental outro is capped off with one final, muffled “I knew you would”.

Whilst the subject matter of ‘Cruel Intention’ isn’t overly joyous, the track is certainly no dirge. Oh Baby’s sound is reminiscent of Chvrches, Purity Ring, and eighties synth pop heroes Depeche Mode and the Human League – their sonic stylings practically drip with gold lamé and would be perfected placed on a John Hughes soundtrack. ‘Cruel Intention’ is best served with a bourbon on the rocks and a desire to detach from the one who’s no good for you. 

‘Cruel Intention’ is taken from Oh Baby’s second album Hey Genius set for release on 23rd July via Burning Witches Records.

Kate Sullivan

Photo Credit: Karen Hornby

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Track Of The Day: Janette King (ft. Dijah SB) – ‘Cool Me Down’

‘Cool Me Down’, the second single in as many months from Canadian singer and producer Janette King, is a shape-shifting slow jam arriving just in time for summer. With a verse from Toronto-based rapper DijahSB lending extra weight, the track manages that rare trick of packaging a lyrically considered, musically inventive song in an immediately accessible form. 

King and producer Jonny Tobin play with genre to the extent that you could make musical comparisons to everyone from Tune-Yards to A Tribe Called Quest, Syd to Four Tet. Though the track is clearly rooted in an R&B tradition, ‘Cool Me Down’ embraces a more experimental approach to the genre, an approach which artists like Solange and Abra have recently utilized while still gathering streams in the millions – something it’s not hard to imagine King achieving in the not too distant future. DijahSB’s verse provides both contrast and complement – the styles of each vocalist, while different, seem well matched; similarly smooth and polished in a manner which throws the content of their lyrics into relief.

Following this single, King will release her debut album, What We Lost, in June this year. Recorded against the backdrop of the BLM movement and addressing loss and grief, the record promises more of the insight and invention on offer here. Having already picked up support slots for a range of artists including CupcakKe and Sudan Archives, we hope we’ll have a chance to see King on tour internationally before long.

What We Lost, the debut album from Janette King, is set for release 25th June via Hot Tramp Records.

Gregory Metcalfe
@gregorysparty

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ALBUM: Elsa Hewitt – ‘LUPA’

A captivating reflection on her own thought processes and an extended hand to those who are seeking a similar internal transformation, London-based experimental artist & producer Elsa Hewitt has shared her new album LUPA. Following on from her 2020 EP Ghostcats, the record shimmers with more of Hewitt’s magnetic synth loops and soft vocals, showcasing her truly eccentric spirit across nine fluid soundscapes.

“2020 forced me to look at myself on the inside and it helped me let go of some things and turn around negative patterns and understand how your thoughts and mind influence the way you feel,” Hewitt explains, echoing a sentiment many will be familiar with. For Hewitt though, this process of dismantling her own psyche began earlier in 2019 when she was asked to write a song in response to suicide, having lost a number of friends the same way. She confronted her own experiences of anxiety and depression in the process and channelled them into the ambient, reassuring sounds that form the backbone of LUPA.

“It was a long progression and a lot of other things had to happen at the same time and it really made me face things within myself that I hadn’t been willing to face before,” she confesses about the record’s conception. This compassionate nature permeates Hewitt’s album. Her reluctance to face these difficult emotions dissolves over the course of each track, soothing the stings of loss and confusion that informed them. As with many of her previous recordings, she improvised her way through vocals and synth textures on LUPA, often recording things in one continuous take. This method gives her music a lucid, dream-like quality, dipping in and out of consciousness but remaining rooted in the joy of the moment.

Her talent for reflecting mood fluctuations via breathy vocals and magnetic loops feels effortless, with ‘Howl’, ‘Lavender’ and ‘Squirrelx’ being prime examples of these skilled shifts – her delicate vocal delivery ripples with genuine emotion, underscored by ethereal electronics and tentative beats. Hewitt’s playful side emerges on ‘Car In The Sun’, ‘Inhaler’ and ‘Fuzzy Duck’, but these tracks are usually followed up with sentiments like the ones on ‘IFM’, which are underscored by compassion and a tender desire to absolve anxious thoughts.

On LUPA, Hewitt has constructed a woozy, poetic sublime headrush of comforting electronic sound that provides a pleasant distraction from the overwhelming nature of the world right now.

Follow Elsa Hewitt on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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