Following on from their previous single ‘It Heals So Quick‘ – a compelling extrapolation on sexuality, ritual and sacrifice – Brighton-based artist and producer Lucy Sheehan aka O Hell has shared their latest offering, ‘hard times’.
Influenced by a love of the eclectic sounds of PJ Harvey, Massive Attack and Mark Lanegan, O Hell’s music sees them explore and deconstruct themselves over brooding electronics, twitchy beats and crystalline vocals. On ‘hard times’ they continue this dismantling, taking cues from the often restricting views we have about love and the way in which it evolves over time.
“I have a hard time forgiving you sometimes / and a hard time loving you less” confesses Sheehan in the chorus, their simplistic words made more potent by their clear, emotive vocals. Underscored by atmospheric beats, evocative synths and idiosyncratic samples, O Hell tenderly navigates the uncertain territory between romantic and platonic love, dismissing the idea that we need to burn bridges, whilst also acknowledging that we need time to recover from the end of a relationship in order to remain close to someone.
“I wrote the chorus in about five minutes, but then George and I kicked it around for weeks before he moved to San Diego,” O Hell explains about the conception of ‘hard times’. “Ben and I visited him there in North Park a few months later, and maybe it needed a bit of that Californian sunshine, ‘cus we finished it as soon as we got back. We started adding on little samples and field recordings that started to provide the verses’ glazed fairground atmosphere. One is a phone recording of when my friend and stylist Abi were being accosted by some council bloke trying to fine us. That’s on there…the sound of Brighton in the summer. That adult fairground atmosphere is definitely there lyrically too, maybe in response to San Diego itself, all the gas station watermelon and donuts.
“The whole thing is a bit of a collage,” Sheehan ultimately reflects. “What I wanted to say in the chorus is: get back to what love really is, ‘cus it’s way bigger and better than the bullshit possessiveness we’re told it needs to centre around. It might change state, it might morph between romantic and platonic, or everything in between – but fuck all the drama off, if you love someone, let that love take its course. It was always bigger than the first label you smacked on it anyway.’
O Hell’s poignant message is enhanced by the accompanying DIY road trip video for ‘hard times’, which Sheehan, filmed, directed and edited by themselves. Watch it below.
