For UK fans of Noah Kahan, look no further than Owen Morton. The Liverpudlian has clearly drawn influence from his American counterpart for his latest single ‘Mine’. With that same rhythmic guitar and light pop that bounces along with a smile, Morton captures the blissful joy of a romantic relationship. The link to Autumn may be tentative in the lyrics but the music revels in such a season. Conveying warmth and playfulness, it dances like leaves around a tree of besotted love where “We’re intertwined / until the end of time”. Descriptions like this may have the sweetness of a pumpkin-spiced latte but when served up in such a delightful arrangement the result becomes a highly enjoyable taste. It definitely makes Owen Morton one-to-watch going into 2025.
‘Daybreaker’ is the continuation of Katherine Priddy’s musical mini-series. Following last month’s ‘Close Season’, she once again teams up with Simon Armitage for what is effectively its conclusion. Having carried us through the “bitingly cold” revelation of an affair, this second part offers a hopeful ending. Our protagonist is “leaving [that] town called midnight / … [that] home called snow” and stepping into the metaphors of Spring. Beginning with the gentle strumming of a guitar, the song’s arrangement gradually grows like a sunrise. Bursting into life with percussive beauty and dramatic choral waves as it reaches its peak. Lyrics like “suddenly everything’s golden / a phoenix is perched in a tree” only add to the poetic feeling of new life after a particularly turbulent period. It may be subtle but the rock-infused energy combined with Katherine’s wispy vocals ensure both continuity and change with the first track. Telling an emotional story across both, together, they really are a treat to listen to.
After a quiet 2024, Olivia Lynn returns to the UK Country scene with her new single ‘Open’. It is a reminder of how infectious her blend of British Pop and Modern Country is. How masterful her lyrical storytelling can be. Here, the expectant mother doesn’t just show her vulnerability but makes it the central theme of the song. “My momma told me / I was always way too open”, she admits. This three-and-a-half minutes is a celebration of that fact. Against a wonderfully-bouncy backdrop of acoustic guitar, she shares the struggles that come with such sincerity, along with a quiet determination not to change. In doing so, her rich introspection becomes relatable, adding to the appeal of the track. It all feeds the anticipation for what is rumoured to be a forthcoming album. In 2025, it appears Olivia Lynn is back.
The new single from Helen Maw feels like a fitting companion piece to her debut album. The hinge on which she now pivots. For after “distilling her emotions” in ‘Growing Pains’, ‘The Moment’ is that decision to let go and move on. It continues her penchant for soulful storytelling. But it’s the guitar rather than piano that takes centre stage. Andy Down’s effective noodling creating a sense of closure that feels right. Maw has arrived at the end of one chapter and beginning of another, where “there is nothing left to say”. The point at which, on this Country-tinged track, she grasps the future with a quiet optimism. And continues, in her performance, to enchant.
Having come to associate Rebecca Richards with the Country ballad, ‘Aces are High’ shoots across to the other end of the spectrum. Her new single is more ‘Goodbye Earl’ than ‘Wide Open Spaces’. With plenty of electric guitar to boot. Telling the story of how one woman overcame a violent and abusive childhood, the song is as visceral in its narrative as it is harrowing. The theme of domestic abuse looms large. Its consequences sad and painful. But even as her mother and sister don’t make it out alive, “through sheer determination… I became the woman my daddy would hate”. In the end, the protagonist wins out in dramatic fashion. The impassioned music coming to represent a victorious cry without ever losing a sense of heartache. Her “retribution” undertaken with all of them in mind. ‘Aces are High’ is, by any standard, a classic Country revenge song. But it’s also, to give Rebecca Richards credit, a very well-written and executed one too.
‘Aces are High’ will be released on the 31st January 2025 and will be available to listen to via Spotify and other music streaming services.
Katy Hurt is becoming adept at soundscaping. Carving out a liminal space into which she deposits her emotive lyrics. In her new single ‘Seasons’, they set sail on a sea of frank honesty. Inviting the listener to explore feelings of change, uncertainty and inevitability, against a vivid backdrop of abstract Folk/Pop. As with ‘Oh Girl’, there is a complexity to the human condition which is captured not only in the words but the accompanying music. Katy lays out her experience with all the vulnerability of the acoustic guitar. Her self-expression open to identification whether in part or in full. Either way, life is no longer to be considered as a linear journey but, for better or worse, a cyclical process, in which “I go round and around and around… just like the seasons”. The song’s mystical ending capturing a dual sense of freedom and insecurity, acceptance and pondering. A more familiar state of being than we perhaps care to admit. But Katy does, and with genuine heart.
Demi Marriner is a consummate storyteller. Aptly titled ‘The Things I Said’, her latest EP offers up a coherent narrative of relationship breakdown and the complex road of building oneself back up. It is an emotional journey – of anger, heartbreak, turmoil, and freedom swirling in a controlled musical storm. The emphasis on acoustic guitar, the sparsity of accompaniment, and the use of highly-expressive vocals, feed in to a story in which the protagonist has reached the point of no return. It’s time to break the cycle. And the fallout is not without its wounds.
This is encapsulated in the opening track ‘Repeat Refrain’. A bit like ‘Patterns’ by Kelsea Ballerini, it offers up a deep awareness of the need to change. Not for its own sake but because the relationship, in this instance, has become problematic. Agency is lost and self-worth questioned as “You plant me like a flower / Watch me bloom / Then show me off / making out like it was all down to you”. The lines are clear and punchy throughout, combined with moments where the drums and strings ring out, to symbolise the reaching of a limit that then plays out in ‘Need to Know’. “A powerful ultimatum”, as I described it in a previous review.
Both tracks are full of sound that demands attention. Reflective of the need for an answer in the latter’s case. The foot is down and the cards are on the table. The result is an achingly heartfelt response. ‘Stop. Pause. Rewind’ captivates in a different way. With short, sharp lyrics in an acoustic setting that renders the fallout as tragic, hurtful and damaging. “What have you done to me?” is the piercing question, that has led to “six months in therapy” and more beside. No wonder there is an urgency to ‘Sound the Alarm’, before a return to the bittersweet with ‘Some People’. The cello of Isabel Williamson lifting the sadness like a sunset beneath grey cloud.
‘Seize the Day’ has much more of a punch. It comes with a certainty that what is lost has enabled what’s been found. The electric guitar of Joe Coombs deals up confidence in a decision to leave, mirrored in the lines “you’re the earthquake to my solid ground”. It may be a small detail, but the line “words unsaid / now look where we are” highlights a nice thread which connects this EP to her debut album, ‘The Things We Didn’t Say’. With closing track ‘Forgiveness’ leaving the door ajar for further exploration. Its delicacy proffers a delightful release. Its words honest. Its heart true. This is what makes Demi Marriner such a master of her craft. And why, as we enter into 2025, she is more in demand as an artist than ever.
You can purchase ‘The Things I Said’ via Demi’s online store, along with some very artistic pieces of merch, including prints and t-shirts, here.
Featured Image (C) Demi Marriner / Miles Myerscough-Harris
The scream of Noddy Holder is as synonymous with Christmas as mince pies and fairy lights. It is also emblematic of the chaotic and wild excitement of the whole song. So Katy Hurt‘s version of ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ is a refreshing take on this British classic. Through the gentle meandering of an acoustic guitar and the soothing sound of the pedal steel,the tempo is brought right down. Vocals are lusciously brought to the fore to tell a story hitherto secondary on Slade‘s original. We might know the words but here Katy makes us feel them. The result is akin to her post-pandemic single Face to Face – the same intimacy, atmosphere, and elegance. With Two Ways Homeadding an extra layer of sophistication. The perfect soundtrack to a Winter’s evening.
Ghosting, aloofness, deceit. All themes that spring from Katie Nicholas’, Katherine Priddy’, and Demi Marriner’s latest singles.
‘In Your Shadow’ is the first. A melancholic tune from Katie Nicholas that could easily have featured on her ‘Feather’ EP. With a heady mix of vibrant strings, they communicate the vulnerability of one who loves but is not loved in return. A narrative which expresses hurt in a very poetic way. None more so than in the line “My treasure left the map / and he went cold”. Heartbreaking in the most beautiful of ways. Not that sadness dominates, as Chris Hillman’s pedal steel and Isabella Baker’s violin crescendo to an emotional release tinged with freedom. Joined by a lovely la-la-la melody of such pleasant subtlety that Katie delivers the final chorus line with quiet confidence. No longer haunted by “the boy who doesn’t call”.
‘Close Season’ is the second. Here, Katherine Priddy prefers a potent collection of percussion to present the hurt and frustration felt at someone who is emotionally distant, even coercive. In a particularly evocative second verse, the drums come to symbolise the contempt of this person, whose disinterest in the other is damningly expressed in the understated lines, “He looks over my shoulder / if I pick up a book”. What follows is then the most rock-infused track of Katherine’s career. Anger and frustration at the revelation of an affair blow as hard as the bitingly cold north wind expressed at the song’s end. It is truly a whirlwind of a song. The words of Simon Armitage lifted from the page in dramatic fashion.
‘Need to Know’ is the third. Demi Marriner’s second release from her upcoming EP delivers a powerful ultimatum. Electric guitar and punchy drumbeats demand honesty from one whose suspicious words and behaviour can no longer be tolerated. “I need to know where you went / where you’ve been / who was there / who did you meet”, she states, in a chorus steeped in catchy Americana hooks. Once again, Demi demonstrates her unique ability to combine straight-talking lyricism with an infectious musical arrangement. The result is genuine emotional investment. Both in the narrative and the music. None more so than in the bridge, where the clever wordplay combines with a luscious melodic lift. An ecstatic moment in a track that underlines her extraordinary talent.
The songs on Eve Goodman’s debut album have accompanied her on the road of grief. Now, ‘Summer Sun, Winter Trees’ sees their release into the wider world. Catharsis is a word that comes to mind. Those who have experienced similar may find just that when they listen in.
The simplicity of Goodman’s arrangements contributes to such. It draws the poetic out while giving stability to emotion. Like watching ripples on the water after a stone has dropped in.
Each track is distinct. Yet there’s a journey through all ten. Bookended by the title track whose liminality stretches like a blanket across the other eight.
There are some which are obvious in their meaning. Others whose stream of consciousness’ requires more thought. Sometimes the lyrics take you deep into the action. Sometimes they carry you down a river of reflection. All are, in some way, a balm for the soul.
‘That Day’ feels like a pivot. The starkness of its opening line. “There are days when I think of joining you”. The qualification of the second. “Not in that way. Not from that place”. Grief running through a mind with a silver-lined sky.
‘Jay Feather’ is much the same. A very subtle change to produce something more uplifting. The discovery of a loved one still existing in creation.
From the heaviness of ‘Pellter’ to the lightness of ‘Pick Up All The Pieces’. The captive nature of ‘Burn’ to the proclamation of ‘Quiet Revolution’. This is Eve Goodman expressing something so intimate and affecting. Collating with such vulnerability. Sharing so freely.
‘Summer Sun, Winter Trees’ is an album of nuance. Of universality. Of humanity.
‘Summer Sun, Winter Trees’ can be purchased from Eve Goodman’s Bandcamp page here.
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