Following on from her acclaimed 2016 debut, Hold Your Mind, Bess Atwell this month released a brand new EP, Big Blue. In keeping with her previous work, the songs are built around her captivating voice, whose smooth tones belie a serious emotional weight. The juxtaposition of lush beauty and turmoil is indicative of a release that explores ideas of fragility and empowerment, mining the depths of vulnerability and tenderness in order to better understand one’s own strength.
“Big Blue explores conflicting themes on identity, romanticism and reality,” Atwell says, with each of the five tracks showing off a honed sense of confidence and immediacy. From the insistent rhythm of ‘Swimming Pool’ to the slow-burn anger of rock-inspired ‘Cherry Baby’, these are songs crafted from the intricacies of human experience and communicated with a fierce sincerity, painting a failed relationship with all of the emotional nuance it deserves.
Such an honest and introspective focus is bound to possess a bittersweet air, and nowhere is this clearer than the conflicted affection of ‘Harvested’. “I wrote ‘Harvested’ about a very complicated friendship,” says Atwell. “Two people whose overwhelming similarities could comfort and cripple the other in equal measure.”
If the majority of the EP finds its protagonist knocked off balance by the changes in a relationship, then closing track ‘Ventnor Villas’ represents something of a realignment. Rising out of a submerged ambient hum, the track kicks in with simple acoustic guitar and Atwell’s haunting tone, the words rendered stark in the relative quiet. While by no means a simple ‘moving on’ track, there is a considered attempt to refocus after the trauma of a break-up, to shift the emphasis away from the other in an attempt to recover a sense of individual identity once more.
The EP’s organic energy might well be explained by the recording process. “I have an amazing full-time band now who worked on these songs with me outside of the studio,” Atwell explains, “and so, when the time came to record, we just went into the studio and essentially played the songs.” This confidence comes through in the textures of the songs, their cohesive atmospheres offering a singular sense of feeling and purpose.
Fresh from supporting Phosphorescent in Belgium, Atwell is doing a live show and a signing in Rough Trade East, the perfect opportunity for those of you in London to see the band in action up close and personal. For those who can’t make it, or if any amongst you need further convincing, then we’re delighted to be able to share a live session rendition of ‘Ventnor Villas’ with Wavey Head in Brighton’s Bella Studios.
Thanks to the excellent camera work of Charle Fairbairn, Jorden Rose and Jack Wolter, the video allows unprecedentedly intimate access to Bess Atwell’s music, the soft focus providing the perfect medium in which to capture natural style.
Big Blue EP is out now via Mother’s Milk Records and you can get it from the Bess Atwell website. As we mentioned previously, Atwell is playing a variety of UK shows and festivals across the next few months, so be sure to check out the full dates below:
Photo by George Ogilvie