Thursday 15 July 2021

LISTEN: Bess Atwell - 'Nobody'

You all know how much I'm adoring the new music from Bess Atwell by now, right?! Her new record Always, Always is due via Real Kind Records on September 24th, and she's just released another taster of it, in the shape of Nobody. For the most part marrying Bess's vocals with just a Spanish guitar, it's a delicate and minimal track to close the record, reminiscent of Real Kind founder Lucy Rose or Laura Marling in places. Strong, emotive and reaaaaally lovely. Safe to assume that you'll need to make space on your album of the year lists for this one, I reckon... 

On the track, Bess shares: "I wrote this song very quickly which is probably why it's one of my favourites. Writing can sometimes feel laboured and emotionally draining but this felt so easy and cathartic, sort of like it just fell out. It encapsulates a specific type of loneliness, a loneliness that I think I had probably been getting closer to conveying with every song on the record, but that finally felt solidified in this one which is why I decided to close the album with it." 

"Often, the harder you try to figure yourself out, the further you get from knowing yourself. Without knowing yourself it can feel impossible to know and love other people. I was desperate for answers about where and who I was meant to be. Nobody focused on a specific relationship, but I hope it taps into something more universal - the feeling of lacking a sense of belonging. 

Something about the simple Spanish guitar part reminded me of a little of 'Orange' by Big Thief which inspired me to keep the production minimal. We recorded drums but decided to take them off, and left mostly just a subtle electronic soundscape that I had put on the demo - synth pads and bass. I wanted something a little more special for this song, so we asked the wonderful Marcus Hamblett to play some brass towards the end."

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