Find A Song about being stuck in a bad place
Oliver Spalding - Emissive
With āEmissiveā, Spaldingās style flows into more dystopian realms. Snappy, almost trip-hop beats and glitches underpin swathes of darkly toned cinematic synths and Spaldingās staggeringly beautiful falsetto yearning. With indulgent space and emotion itās one of the more experimental and free flowing moments on his debut.
āāEmissiveā is about being stuck in a bad place and pleading for relief or a warmth to save you from the impending cold. Depression is a serious issue in modern society and you arenāt alone so please never suffer in silence - reach out for help!ā
āNovemberismā is the debut album of 23-year-old UK artist Oliver Spalding. As with his debut EP āUnfurlā (2017), the album was written and recorded with producer Ed Tullett (Novo Amor). Built around Spaldingās staggeringly beautiful voice, the record is full of melodic, immediate songwriting and arresting electronic production.
Asked about his choice of title, Spalding explains, āTo be melancholy all year round is to suffer from Novemberism.ā Ā And indeed, these 11 tracks are woven together with a common thread of heavyheartedness. Even the more upbeat songs, like title track āNovemberismā and āBow Creekā, which drive and glisten with intoxicating pop hooks and 80s era synths, recall the darker undercurrents of classic New Order. Says Spalding, āThe album focuses on a certain period of time in my life and the things that happened around me. My honesty in songwriting is key. The aim of this album was to be raw and emotional. Emotions are scary and no one wants to face them, and thatās what I wanted the album to feel like - something that is uncomfortable but also beautifully revealing.
Synthesizers feature heavily across the record, including single āBow Creekā, where iridescent synth stabs and lush strings wash over a hazy, late-night London. Ā āIām a huge Roxy Music fanā, says Spalding, āI love Brian Ferryās work and take inspiration from the Prophet synth sounds on the 80s Bruce Springsteen records.
Opener āAthamĆ©ā explodes the record into life with a barrage of saxophone and cymbals, before settling down to āXanaxāās addictive delayed guitar lines and Spaldingās world-weary vocals. The slow, dark R&B simmer of āHer Crescentā reflects in the dark, ethereal pool of Bjƶrk-influenced soundscape āEmissiveā, and the quietude of the delicate, piano-led heartbreaker āGoldenā gives room to breathe after the gloomy electronic cacophony of āAIBMā. Elsewhere in the album, āUnrealā sees Spaldingās gossamer, spine-tingling falsetto soar to the heavens, and epic power ballad āEvergladesā lifts Spaldingās voice to its towering, affecting peak, bringing the album to a close with a shudder of thundering drums. (press release)
