WATCH: John Myrtle - 'Spider on the Wall'

Most songs even ever-so-slightly inspired by our lockdown experiences make you want to roll your eyes back into your head too, right? How does a track from the perspective of the spider on your wall sound? The master of quirky musical narratives, John Myrtle has written just that, and tis a dream. Playing on the themes of isolation and, you know, being stuck inside your house, the imagined spider in the song finds what it sees of a human household to be ever so slightly underwhelming. Spider On The Wall is taken from John's debut record Myrtle Soup, releasing on 18th June via Sad Club Records.

John shares: "I thought a song that told a story behind closed doors was very fitting for the time we were all living in. With the whole album being written and performed at home in lockdown, writing and singing as a spider was freeing in a weird way. I was able to leave my house and go write about someone else's. Instead of envying the other people's lives, he's disgusted by them, and finds out that his home is the most comfortable of all." 

 

Follow John Myrtle - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: John Myrtle - 'How Can You Tell If You Love Her?'

Instant favourite alert. For you, and for me. New John Myrtle is just as dreamy as recent single Get Her Off My Mind. The track arrives alongside news of John's debut album (!) Myrtle Soup, due via Sad Club Records on 18th June. The beauty of the track is in the contrast of bright and cheery instrumentation with the confusion and anxiety portrayed in the lyrics. So goooooood. It's a genuine ray of sunshine in the shape of a 2 minute track. Get the repeat button at the ready. 

On the track, John shares: "I guess the song is about being sure of the relationship you're in - you can never really be certain you're doing the right thing, you've just got to trust yourself. It's not like you can get a tape measure or complete a questionnaire to tell you if what you're doing is right. This was the first song I had written since I had moved to London. I remember feeling quite alone when writing it, and just really unsure about all the decisions I had made up until that point." 

"I had just broken up with a long term girlfriend who I had partly moved to London to be with, and I had just begun seeing someone who told me she only wanted a casual type of thing going. I remember feeling like everyone I had known always seemed to doubt love in some way, and I wrote the lyrics to this song with that in mind. I was unsure of what the future held for me, and I felt like singing this song was quite cathartic, at least it screamed out that I wanted certainty in my life and answers!"

The video for the track was shot in the model village of Bournville in Birmingham, and made by Bristol-based duo Marie Dutton and Benjamin Saunders. On the thoughts behind it, John writes "we thought it'd be sweet to do it there, quite literally, as I grew up nearby and so it felt very much like I was 'coming home' in a way. We could smell chocolate whilst we filmed as the Cadbury factory is directly opposite, so it was a pleasure for the senses making this video - and I hope it's a pleasure for yours too!"

Follow John Myrtle - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: John Myrtle - 'Get Her Off My Mind'

I've been procrastinating a lot lately... mostly by watching the birds in my garden (worse hobbies to have!) The inbox is looking a little daunting each time I try to approach it and look through some emails, but this caught my eye yesterday. A submission from Sad Club Records (Clara Mann) - they're keeping the bar really high with this one, a new track from 'eccentric indie-popper' John Myrtle. I have to admit that John is a new artist to me but I'm loving exploring his 2019 EP Here's John Myrtle and ADORE this new track, which has been rattling around in my head since the first listen. Perfect for fans of Willie J Healey, Boy Azooga, Premium Leisure and the like... (I wrote this, then got to the part of the press release where I find that John and his band supported Boy Azooga in the past - so I seem to be spot on!)

On the track, he shares "this song was written a long time ago and has stayed with me throughout the years so to finally give it a release is both exciting and relieving! I remember I was listening to a lot of The Beach Boys at the time, and just a lot of classic 60s pop which I guess is what I listen to anyway. Here though, I wanted to do a song that was just a very simple, catchy 3 minute pop song, like a Monkees track or something!"

"I was always fretting about how I can never get things sounding how I want them in studios, and it never occurred to me, as stupid as it sounds, that I could get a tape machine and do it myself. The early Ween stuff made that seem possible. [...] I've actually had this song recorded so many times in various studios and it was never what I wanted. When I learnt how to record myself it was like I was enlightened!"  

Follow John Myrtle - Facebook | Instagram.

LISTEN: Clara Mann - 'Thoughtless'

Monday, again?! Hope you've all had a lovely (snowy?) weekend... I've been really getting into a spot of birdwatching and rediscovering my love for photography through wildlife recently, and spent much of the weekend staring at birds at my local nature reserve and through my window. Snowy weather guides me towards the sort of music that gives that same warm feeling you get sitting by a fire, and this new Clara Mann tune does just that. 

Thoughtless follows debut Spotify release (after some lo-fi Bandcamp demos) I Didn't Know You Were Leaving Today - in both we are utterly transported by Clara's intimate and unique vocals. For me, they offer up something that feels at once new while harking back to more traditional folk music. The track is taken from her upcoming debut EP, entitled Consolations, which is due on Feb 24th. The EP was recorded remotely in Clara's bedroom, with producer Benjamin Spike-Saunders mixing in his. It's hard not to make that connection with the homely, heartwarming feeling that the tracks bring. 

Clara Mann · Thoughtless

Speaking about the new track, Clara explains "I wrote this over a summer where I was totally adrift - it was quite a lonely time, and I felt that, in a bid for some kind of connection, I was making myself vulnerable to the wrong people. Thoughtless is a recognition of that unhealthy tendency in myself, as well as being about the way people can take too much of someone, without even realising." 

On the influence of water through the track, she writes "there's a lot about water in the song, about the sea, the waves. I grew up by a river in France, and I think have always felt most at home in landscapes with water nearby. It's a mixture of finding it comforting and familiar, but also being aware of he power of the current, the tide, or the swell, and feeling helpless and fragile next to them. The guitar part in Thoughtless unintentionally mimics the rise and fall of waves, and I like the way the melody floats above it. I remember finding it quite painful to write - it felt very raw. I was very into Sorolla's paintings at the time, and the way he paints light - I wanted to do that with music, with my words." 

Follow Clara Mann - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Clara Mann - 'I Didn't Know You Were Leaving Today'

I've been utilising a week away from work on furlough, stuck at home, trying to be productive here... you might have noticed. Three two-post days in a row is probably a new record! I'm loving sharing so many new artists in particular - it's exciting to think this might be the first place that somebody hears an artist who goes on to become a favourite. Here's hoping! Another debut single for you today, this time from Bristolian singer-songwriter Clara Mann via Sad Club Records. 

Now, go with me here - listening to this track transported me to the feeling of a Sofar Sounds show. Not knowing much about the artist you're about to hear, but being confident that they're probably going to be superb. The intimacy and delicacy of the performance and the ensuing shock that something could truly be that beautiful. 

Clara Mann · I Didn't Know You Were Leaving Today

The track was produced by Benjamin Spike-Saunders and mastered by Alice Western. On the track, Clara plays piano, guitar and vocals, with additional instrumentation from Marika-Tyler Clark (fiddle) and Felix M-B (harmonium, guitar). Recorded and mixed remotely due to the virus, the home-grown sense seeps through the track, which came to life between Clara and Ben's respective bedrooms. On recording it, Clara comments "it was mostly just me and my mic at my desk, willing the neighbours to keep quiet through the takes. It was okay - just a bit lonely at times!" 

Follow Clara Mann - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.