For On The Record, we caught up with emerging songwriter Finlay Birch who has just released his debut album, Weight Will Unwind. Composed of ten tracks that took nearly a decade to build, this record is not only about the end result, but it’s a reflection of all those different life stages that Birch has travelled through. Change, uncertainty, hope and catharsis from years of growth and self-reflection come together through the Isle of Mull-via-Inverclyde artist’s quiet and honest observation. This album has very much been a process of self-examination with Birch doing the deep work by looking inwards, but he also looks out to the natural world, which reflects the ever-shifting reality of life. With best friend Dylan Cooper on production duty, these songs are wrapped in a sheen of light, warm atmospherics that really illuminate Birch’s empathetic vocals, personal lyricism and folk-meets-rock arrangements. Without further ado, let’s dive into this chat with Finlay Birch who discusses how one’s perspective evolves over time, the importance of place to the creative process and why Weight Will Unwind was worth the wait.
Welcome to Unrecorded! For those who aren’t already familiar with Finlay Birch, can you introduce yourself?
I’m Finlay Birch, a singer-songwriter originally from Inverclyde and now based on the Isle of Mull. I’ve been writing songs since I was a teenager and have always been fascinated by how people and places shape who we are. Alongside making music, I work in the arts and community sector, and I think both sides of my life feed into one another. My songs sit somewhere between indie-folk and alternative music, and I’m drawn to honest storytelling and finding beauty in everyday moments.
Congratulations on the recent release of your debut album! How would you describe Weight Will Unwind in three words?
Honest, hopeful, unfolding.
When we last featured you for ‘Inside Your Mind’, we discovered a track full of emotional unrest and pressures of daily life. Looking back at when you first wrote ‘Inside Your Mind’ compared to finishing the album, how has your perspective shifted?
When I wrote Inside Your Mind, I think I was right in the middle of those feelings. It came from a place of anxiety and trying to make sense of the pressures and overthinking that can come with everyday life. By the time I finished the album, I was able to look back on that period with a bit more compassion.
I don’t think I’ve found all the answers, but I’ve become more comfortable with uncertainty and kinder to myself than I probably was when I first wrote the song. Looking back, I think it captures a moment in time, and I’m grateful that I can now listen to it from a different perspective.
A debut album is unique because it holds a lifetime of waiting. You have songs on here that are nearly ten years old. How did you go about fitting together songs written at entirely different life stages?
That was one of the biggest challenges. Some of these songs have been with me for almost a decade, written by very different versions of myself. I Want You and Change the Sheets, for example, both go back around eight years, while others arrived much later. What surprised me was that, despite being written at different times and in different places, they all seemed to speak to one another.
The themes of longing, change, loneliness, hope and trying to find peace kept appearing, regardless of how old the songs were. Working with Dylan Cooper, we focused on creating a sound that tied them together rather than trying to hide their age. In the end, I realised the album wasn’t meant to capture one particular chapter of my life. It became more like a collection of postcards from the last decade.
Over that time, you’ve moved around a bit, from Inverclyde to Brighton to the Isle of Mull. Would you say the changing locations also impacted your songwriting?
Absolutely. Inverclyde gave me my roots and a lot of my earliest influences. Brighton opened my eyes to different music and creative communities when I was studying songwriting, and moving to Mull slowed everything down.
Living somewhere with such a strong sense of community and being surrounded by incredible landscapes changed the way I approached writing. I think the songs became less concerned with trying to impress and more interested in observation and honesty. Each place has left its fingerprints on the music in different ways.
There’s a strong presence of place, particularly that of the natural world, in song titles like ‘The River’, ‘Two Magpies’ and ‘Hebridean Eyes’. Would you say the environment is one of your muses?
Definitely. I don’t think I consciously set out to write about landscapes, but they always seem to find their way into the songs. Living on Mull has made me appreciate simple things more — shorelines, changing weather, birds, long drives and quiet moments.
I think nature gives you perspective. Sometimes it’s easier to understand what’s going on inside yourself by looking outward, and a lot of these songs ended up using the natural world as a way of talking about emotions and relationships.
You also worked with producer and best friend Dylan Cooper on the album. Do you think his background working with the likes of Charli XCX and Lil Peep, and your close connection, changed the record’s final outcome?
Without question. Dylan has worked on huge records, but what I value most is that he understands me as a person. There was a level of trust where neither of us felt the need to overcomplicate things.
We recorded much of the album live on Mull and tried to capture performances rather than chase perfection. His experience brought confidence and perspective, but our friendship meant we could be completely honest with one another and follow what felt right for the songs. I think the record ended up sounding intimate because of that.
The anchor point seems to be title-track ‘Weight Will Unwind’, which acts like a reassuring friend amidst a moment of personal struggle. Can you tell us the story behind this song?
I wrote Weight Will Unwind during a difficult period when life felt quite overwhelming. I remember sitting on Mull on a stormy evening and feeling as though everything had become very heavy.
The song almost arrived as something I needed to hear myself. It wasn’t trying to offer easy answers, but more a reminder that difficult feelings don’t stay fixed forever and that life has a way of changing, even when it doesn’t feel like it in the moment.
It eventually became the emotional centre of the album and gave the record its title because that message seemed to connect so many of the songs together.
What do you hope listeners will take away from Weight Will Unwind?
More than anything, I hope people find something of themselves in it. The songs are very personal, but I think the best music makes you feel a little less alone.
If someone puts the record on during a long drive or after a difficult day and finds some comfort or hope in it, that’s enough for me. I don’t think albums have to solve anything. Sometimes just sitting alongside someone is enough.
Following the release of this album, what will be next on the horizon for you?
I’ve already started writing again and have over ten songs taking shape for whatever comes next. Making Weight Will Unwind reminded me how much I love creating records with people I trust, so I’m excited to continue collaborating with my best friend Dylan Cooper and recording on Mull.
I’d love to continue building things independently while hopefully finding a home with an indie label somewhere down the line. More than anything, I want to keep making honest music and bringing people together through it. Releasing Weight Will Unwind feels less like the end of something and more like the beginning.
You can also find title-track ‘Weight Will Unwind’ in our Folk This Way playlist.
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