Behind the music – LLIVELY Music

Behind the music: Harrison Rimmer on ‘Cold’

Harrison Rimmer is following up the release of his last single ‘Tough Love’ with new single ‘Cold’. The single is taken from his upcoming sophomore album ‘Cheaper Than Therapy’. This song is raw, angsty, and has teeth. Musically it draws inspiration from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Frank Turner and City & Colour, a musical pallet many Harrison Rimmer fans have grown to know as his bread and butter, but the difference this time around is in the lyrics, it’s a style some Harrison Rimmer fans haven’t heard for a while.

Harrison’s mission with ‘Cheaper Than Therapy’ has been to have the music be fun and energetic, to be the listener’s escape, but the lyrics to be the crack in the door with them being raw and honest. ‘Cold’ displays this perfectly. Harrison says, “If ‘Tough Love’ was the rallying cry, ‘Cold’ is what happens when you’re in the thick of doing the work. I used to call this my Frankenstein’s Monster. Some of the lyrics were written after my first panic attack and some were written later during a time in my life when I despised myself and the man I was becoming. So I pulled the mirror up and began to start putting the work in. I started to plot and move on with my life and to be more true and authentic to who I am, no matter how uncomfortable it made me. I feel like I’ve captured that moment in ‘Cold’.”

Musically it’s fun and punchy, hell you can sing and dance to it if you wanted, but lyrically, lyrically is where Harrison really wanted to get listeners. “Did those words make me uncomfortable? Absolutely, but in writing them I set myself free. I got stuck into conversations with my friends, family and started therapy, and even exercising regularly. Those factors became driving forces for not only this song and album, but for myself going forwards.”

Behind the music: Bakersongs on ‘Turn a Blind Eye’

The announcement of Bakersongs new full-length release received a lot of positive response from Americana journalists in the Netherlands. One even called him the perfect combination of Ryan Adams and Paul McCartney. With the second single from the record, ‘Turn a Blind Eye’, Bakersongs shows such compliments are well-deserved.

On ‘Turn a Blind Eye’, singer Ruud said: “For ‘Turn a Blind Eye’ I was musically inspired by the lethargic feel of The Band. The chorus is of course meant ironically, in regards to everything that is going on in the world. It can also be interpreted in a way that gives you a bit more peace with looking the other way and not to concern yourself too much with the overwhelming amount of news that is shared with us daily.”

The music of Bakersongs is characterized by smart, creative approaches and excellent, crafted musicianship. In terms of influences, think of American Folk and Americana artists such as The Band, James Taylor and The Milk Carton Kids, but influences of The Beatles, and Damien Rice are also undeniable.

Behind the music: Becca James on ‘Trust The Season’

‘Trust the Season’ is a three-track collection released by alt-pop songstress Becca James. The music reflects the early part of James’ development when she was based in Newcastle and embodies totally the sentiment of its title, to trust and honour every stage of development and season. The work is the prelude to James’ most accomplished work, a trauma healing EP/LP project, ‘God in Chains’ due for release in 2024.

“‘Trust the Season’ is a collection of songs from my early journey in creating music. I went through many mental, emotional and physical roadblocks to having a music career through chronic illness and difficulties in my personal life. These songs are not intended to be an EP, but rather a timeline of this creation process in the chaos and they reflect early experimentation in my sound. I didn’t have the confidence to call myself a writer then, and there was so much grief and pressure in my personal life, but I held onto trying. Just having a go.

And the title of the collection is all about trusting that process of development. I am a very different person from who I was when I was making those songs. They are not me in the present, as I feel I have developed so much since they were created, but I have to honour and love my younger self as uncomfortable as looking back makes me feel. There’s time to develop, create and harvest. I truly didn’t know the depths of what life had to offer back then, but the message applies at any time of life: Trust the Season.”