Lydia Luce - Headshrinkers
It’s no secret that an artist’s surroundings directly influence their output, but in the case of Lydia Luce’s new single “Matter of Time,” it isn’t so much about the beautiful nature in which the song was written. Moreso, Luce’s ethereal tune focuses on what might become of her Eden with the upward trend of wildfires and climate change.
Written during her time as an artist in residence on Orcas Island off the coast of Washington—only a couple of months after a series of devastating heatwaves in the Pacific Northwest—it was greatly apparent to Luce that her refuge was threatened. “I was on this incredibly beautiful island immersed in nature thinking about the effect of climate change in that area.
In that moment, I was grateful to be able to be there and experience the beauty,” she says, recounting the genesis of “Matter of Time.” “I tried to stay present and really absorb it all because every year we are seeing changes to our world.” “I want to stay in the light, because I know it’s a matter of time,” she sings.
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Expertly tapping into and memorialising a certain place and time in history, the latest single from the Black Country-based newcomers is a lofty expanse of a track that merges spoken-word lyrics with velvety vocal harmonies and opulent stretches of instrumentals.
As gentle acoustic guitar strums and skillfully-crafted poetry descend into an exhilarating crescendo of steady and majestic drums, jubilant riffs and increasingly urgent vocals, “The Sea Has No Friends” ingeniously boasts the band’s breadth. Straying slightly from the rip-roaring post-punk of their earlier singles, the new track stays true to the band’s knack for capturing the imagination and evoking the sights and sounds of a specific — and at times long forgotten — moment in time.
Of the story behind the track, vocalist and songwriter Garran Hickman explains: “It was quite the reflective day when I wrote that piece. Words and melody were both written in half an hour. It’s just two entwined memories really: one is of my older relatives sharing stories of their loved ones in the war, and secondly the opening line, ‘the sea has no friends’, are words my dad used to describe the sea.”
Produced and mixed by Gavin Monoghan at Magic Garden Studios in Wolverhampton and engineered by Liam Radburn, the track comes as an astute follow up to the band’s most recent single “Monocle”. Headshrinkers are Garran Hickman (vocals), James Knott (guitar), Xavier Al-Naqib (bass) and Scarlett Churchill (drums, backing vocals). Having formed in 2019 and bonded over a shared vision of capturing the intricacies of modern life within their music, the Black Country-based foursome have been quick to make a name for themselves on their local music scene and beyond.
Carving out an unmistakable sound characterised by its unflinching poetry set atop searing and confrontational guitar riffs, thunderous basslines and pummelling drums, Headshrinkers were dubbed as Brum Radio’s ‘Band of the Year’ for 2020, and named on This Feeling’s ‘Big in 2021’ list.
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