Laura Fell is back and new EP, Talk It All Apart is something very special indeed. As a foretaste for her planned second album, it’s irresistible. Help Laura make sure that album happens!
Release Date: 16th May 2025
Label: Self Release
Formats: Digital
A PROLIFIC WRITER
Laura Fell is a great favourite of ours. By way of proof, her acclaimed debut album, Safe From Me, made our 2020 Albums of the Year list; we love her songs, we love the way she presents them and, most especially, we love that rich, ethereal voice of hers that seems to bring layers of intimacy and certainty to everything it touches. Safe From Me brought Laura Fell to our attention and we’ve been waiting eagerly for a follow-up.
Laura is a prolific writer and she hasn’t been idle during the intervening years since that debut crossed our radar and there’s good news for all who were as enthralled as we were back then: She’s got the songs for that long-awaited follow-up.
DEEPLY CATHARTIC
Laura’s new songs follow a common theme – they tackle the issues of mental health, identity and shame. The forthcoming album promises to be Laura’s most personal and meaningful venture yet and she admits that writing the songs: “…has been instrumental in my own processing, and deeply cathartic. I hope that, when I get them out into the world, they can also help others to feel less alone in their struggles.”
Now – that’s a worthy objective in anyone’s book and, when you consider Laura’s impressive track record in producing high-quality songs that combine thought-provoking lyricism with sheer listenability, AND – that she’ll be enlisting the services of Mercury Prize-winning producer Mike Lindsay to help bring those songs to life, then the prospect is an enticing one indeed.
LISTEN TO THAT VOICE!
Talk It All Apart is the first substantial appetiser for the forthcoming album if we discount the hors d’oeuvre we’ve already enjoyed in the shape of the EP’s lead single, Outlines, a song that we described as a ‘tongue tingler’ when we first heard it back in early March. And, if that morsel wasn’t enough to get your juices flowing, then Talk It All Apart surely will do.
Two aspects of these new songs strike me very firmly between the eye-sockets. Laura’s lyricism is truly outstanding and, as I listened to Talk It All Apart, I found myself scribbling frantically to capture several of the phrases that she drops so casually into her songs. But, better even than the lyrics is that wonderful voice of hers, a voice that manages to express both vulnerability and assertiveness in almost every breath. If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of hearing it, then that’s an omission that you need to correct urgently.
FOLKY SOPHISTICATION
And it’s that voice that has an immediate impact from the very start in the EP’s opening track, Blur The Line. It’s a pleasant, poppy, tune, with an air of folky sophistication. The loping bass and the soft synth-y sounds add to the listening experience but, overwhelmingly, it’s the voice that works the magic.
Tinkly tones predominate in the enchanting Talk It All Apart, the EP’s title track. The feel is sophisto-pop, with some nice bluesy tones thrown in for good measure and lyrics like: “Sometimes I pathologise everything I feel, which only leaves me questioning what’s real” all help to make for an engaging listen.
CONTROLLED AGONISING
The intimacy in Laura’s voice is stepped up a notch as she sings lines like: “The intensity you felt for is now too much to contain – all my loving’s been a losing game” in Losing Game, a wonderful song of self-analysis, before a spine-tingling sigh introduces Outlines, the song we’ve already enjoyed as the lead single. Laura almost breathes her lyrics as she sings: “It’s no good; I shouldn’t do this. I’m working through this – would you let me move along?” and her commitment is absolute.
And the controlled agonising continues into closing track, Easier. The accompaniment bubbles and simmers as Laura ponders the passage of her life with yet more fantastic lyrics. Talk It All Apart is an excellent, short collection. I, for one, can’t get enough of Laura’s songs and, particularly, the way she sings them. Bring on that album!
A CROWDFUNDING OPPORTUNITY
Which, brings us to our sticking point. In order to turn the eagerly-awaited new album into a reality, Laura needs as much help as can be mustered. She’s set up a Crowdfunder to help her raise the necessary funding for the recording; help can be provided in many ways – all of them rewarding in themselves – including purchasing merchandise, attending concerts and participating in song writing sessions.
It helps if you can spread the word by sharing details of the campaign with others. Please join At The Barrier in helping Laura realise her ambition for the new album – your efforts will be well worthwhile. We can’t wait to hear the album!
Listen to Laura tell you more about the Crowdfunding initiative here.
Watch the official video to Outlines – the EP’s lead single – below:
Laura Fell: Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube / Bandcamp
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