Earlier this year, we introduced you to the pheonomally talented Bertie Newman, a London-based singer, songwriter and musician whose talent for creating highly relatable and honest songs is boundless. Some of you might have come across Newman even before we did thanks to a couple of key releases, like his cover of Alexander 23’s ‘IDK You Yet’ or his original creation ‘Seaside Eyes’, both of which have racked up thousands of streams and shares across the social media multi-verse. It’s the latter of these two that’s also a doorway into the artist’s significant milestone, a new EP.
Alongside the viral ‘Seaside Eyes’, you’ll also spot two tracks on the EP, ‘Wasted On Me’ and ‘I Will’, both of which we’ve waxed lyrical about before. The final piece of the puzzle that brings Newman’s Thoughts So Loud record to full completion is ‘Home’. This single fits neatly into the project, as it shares so much of that indie-folk and acoustic-pop DNA that has become something of a hallmark for Newman. Woven into the sweet melodies and sensitive acoustic notes is some really creative lyrics that allows the songwriter to contrast to states of being through the images of a “hotel paradise, five star dreams and an ocean by the fire” to “rainy day, stuck in traffic by your side”. It’s obvious where Newman‘s heart truly lies, but his head feels far away, “closer to the moon”, and this gives us a little insight into his experience of the neurodivergent diagnosis ADHD.
The new EP track touches upon many themes that comes directly from Bertie Newman‘s life experiences, and so here he explains some of these that you can find in ‘Home’:
“‘Home’ is really a throwback to how I felt really anxious about my current relationship when it first started to manifest. I felt as if a mirror had been placed directly in front of me and everything that was good and bad about myself was being revealed. It is also, most importantly about how when you find a place of peace, then you gravitate towards it, no matter what that place is for you. Firstly, I wanted to stress how incredible meeting this person was, and did this by comparing the best things imaginable in life to the most annoying things life throws at you however you are spending time with that person and ultimately preferring it to the luxuries of life – lyrics such as “hotel paradise” and “five star dreams” just aren’t as nice “as a rainy day, stuck in traffic by your side”. This then bleeds into the chorus saying “I want to go home” referring to the person rather than the materialistic desires. The second half of the chorus really just explains the feelings that if she wasn’t in my life I would know how horrible I would feel as I was in that place before meeting her. Lastly, I wanted the bridge to really be that crying call of what you really want but don’t think you deserve – “you’re the air I breathe, so help me breathe” just highlights the desperate attempt to try and accept such an amazing person coming into my life. Overall, I wrote this song wanting to highlight the absolutely stunning parts of meeting someone so special but also the complications within yourself that come with it.”
Below you can listen to the entire Thoughts So Loud EP, we promise it’ll be time well spent.
You can listen to EP single ‘Home’ in our Folk This Way playlist.
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