Laura Fell – Cold (Balloon Machine)
Laura Fell releases a second alt-pop single, Cold, from forthcoming debut album Safe From Me due out 20 November 2020 on new imprint Balloon Machine.
Artist: Laura Fell
Track: Cold
Label: Balloon Machine
Released: 7 October 2020
Find it: Spotify
With dark, creeping strings, and the sort of half-whispered conversation which is mainly with yourself than another Cold, the second single from Laura Fell, tip-toes between sinister thought-spirals and hopeful self-acceptance.
With builds of varied percussion and deep tones of melody the track is another intimate portrait as Fell – a psychotherapist by day – turns an analytical gaze on herself. With a rich vocal, close at times to Aldous Harding or Alison Moyet, Fell steps lightly between the instrumentation or stretches languorously, almost hypnotically around certain refrains. Sharp knocks of percussion switch with tinkling bells, while bubbling strings underpin and then shimmering dissipate; dust motes in sunshine.
Complex in structure and theme this is intelligent, orchestrated alt-pop of the finest order, and quite astonishingly fully formed and distinctly visioned for an artist early in their career.
‘I can’t find the answers for myself / it’s easier to help somebody else’
Of Cold Fell said, “This song is about the vulnerability of entering into a new relationship – wanting to open yourself fully, but fearful of doing this too soon – and essentially asking someone not to reject or judge you when you show them the messier parts of yourself.”
Fell’s dedication to her musical journey of self-discovery was unquestionable from the off, so much so that her peers questioned her sanity. Holding down three jobs to fund debut album Safe From Me, Fell was determined that the songs would go far beyond their acoustic guitar genesis, assembling classically trained musicians and their flugelhorns, cellos, saxophones and double bass to fully realise her vision. The album is a search for answers from a woman always expected to have them to hand, and the self-punishing frustration that assumption brings.
Cold is the second single to be released from forthcoming album Safe From Me, due out digitally on 20 November through the new imprint from music-journal-turned-label Balloon Machine. Read our review of first single Bone of Contention here.
Find Laura Fell: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Bandcamp
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Sarah Lay
A long-standing music journalist she's also co-founder of independent record label Reckless Yes, an author of novels, and when not messing around with words and music, a digital strategist.
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