Arliston - “Monks of Lindisfarne”
UK-based duo Jack Ratcliffe and George Hasbury, aka Arliston, have just released the warm and intimately reflective new single, “Monks of Lindisfarne.”
The song opens to the introspective vibes of delicately finger-plucked acoustic guitar across a sublime, indie folk landscape. The vocal performance begins immediately, as though a confessional from a close friend; the delivery is tender and authentic, instantly drawing in the listener for an emotionally-charged journey through the sonic space.
The subtle pulse of a subdued rhythm section arrives, providing forward momentum while also keeping our ears fully engaged and allowing us to completely immerse ourselves into the culminating textures of sound. And once the vocal delivers the ascending lyrics of “I know, I know, I know…” we found ourselves unreservedly hooked on “Monks of Lindisfarne.”
With the emergence of the layered vocal performance, the soft tones of an effected electric guitar churn some mellifluous energy into the soundscape. The result is a musical wonderland of satisfying resonance that has kept us coming back to the song for multiple listening sessions– we found it incredibly difficult to keep it all to ourselves in the weeks leading up to its release date.
About this new track, Ratcliffe offers: “‘Monks of Lindisfarne’ is a Peep Show reference. The quote from the show is when Jeremy claims that he is doing the ‘honorable’ thing by telling Mark that he is in love with Mark’s girlfriend, Mark replies “No! An honorable man would have become a monk, or cut his nuts off, or gone to morocco.” This was one of the (many) oblique references I made in a panicked draft of a long message to someone, attempting to say something along the lines of ‘don’t worry if you don’t feel the same way, if you don’t, I’ll just become one of the monks of Lindisfarne.”
“Monks of Lindisfarne” is kind of song into which listeners can fully lose themselves– to the point that they might not immediately notice that the rhythm has expanded to include a full drum kit, or that the vocals pour into the arrangement in waves of multi-layered magnificence. We highly encourage you to press play on this wonderfully chill work of art and connect with Arliston across the internet: Instagram | Spotify | TikTok | Facebook | YouTube | Soundcloud
-HD