Bess Atwell - “Fan Favourite”
Photo by Davey
Brighton-based singer-songwriter Bess Atwell returns to the blog with “Fan Favourite,” a sparkling, dreamy track from her forthcoming LP, Light Sleeper.
We last heard from Atwell upon the unveiling of “Release Myself,” and it is becoming abundantly clear that her sound is founded in a rich, authentically vintage world of textures. Pressing play on “Fan Favourite” only brings more truth to this, with its robust arrangement that consists of rolling layers of nostalgia-imbued elements, from the classic compression on the rhythm section, to the psychedelically-charged keys that pad the production.
Of course, it does not hurt that Atwell’s voice is a breath of fresh air, delightfully soaring across “Fan Favourite” like a gentle, mellifluous breeze. And while we heard a bit of Sharon Van Etten and Adrianne Lenker in her previous single, we are picking up some Brandi Carlile vibes with this new one. A warm and subtle vocal harmony falls into place on the refrain and it is not at all difficult to imagine the song as a permanent fixture in the soundtrack to human existence.
“Fan Favourite” is a dreamlike journey through your emotions, complete with a tranquil aesthetic that should sit quite nicely in all of your favorite introspective playlists. Atwell says that the song is “an attempt at a self-wake-up call so I wanted the production to sparkle, breathe and feel alive, the instrumentation a reminder that life is indeed still there to be lived.”
With Aaron Dessner at the helm of production, it’s really no wonder that everything we’ve heard from Light Sleeper is a sonic masterpiece. And if the rest of the record brings more of the same, May 24th cannot come soon enough.
-HD