Granted, it has been a bit quiet here at The Irregular Riff (so do be sure to give the Facebook page a follow for some less irregular musical musings), however at Irregular Riff HQ (yes, my bedroom...) there's been the near constant sound of joyful whistling in the air and a permanent smile etched across my face, my cheeks sore with an ever widening grin and me powerless to do anything about it. Since it was released nearly a fortnight ago, I've been simply chuffed every time I listen to Wide Eyed Love, the debut single from Bronwen Lewis' debut album, Home, to be released later this month.
Now, to any readers who don't know me personally (aka Kevin in Stockport - keep on the funk Kev!) I should explain that it's super strange for me to be writing anything about Bronwen Lewis. Bronwen has always just been Bron to me because she's one of my oldest friends (since the age of 3 along with the rest of the CC Crew - you know who you are) and to finally see her achieving what she's been striving for is brilliant.
I hope this doesn't get too soppy as I know there's nothing Bron and myself hate more than that but inevitably I'm gonna say some embarrassing stuff so apologies to Bron as I scupper any chance she has at fame by revealing all those embarrassing stories from primary and secondary school. Sorry Bron.
Nah, won't do that, too many, too little time.
Let's just get to the music. My initial reaction to watching the video for the first time was, "Bloody 'ell, what's she done to her hair!", but that might be because I haven't seen Bron in awhile. You're not able to dwell on anything as trivial as that for very long though as the music sweeps you up and carries you along through a dark, shrouded mystery of a track, with Bronwen's vocals piercing through like shards of comforting light.
Bron's voice has always been brilliant right since choir in primary school and here it has a magnetism that really creates drama, raises the curtain and puts you and her centre stage. There's an intimacy and vulnerability throughout that immediately draws the listener to its raw honesty, but there's also a surging defiance in the chorus that hooks you in and gets you punching the air.
The chorus is what'll be bouncing around your head for hours after you've turned the track off - it's super catchy, almost power-ballad like and is guaranteed to have people pouring their heart out at the steering wheel of their cars. The vocal harmonies and the fading echoes remind me a little of the operatic drama that Amy Lee of Evanescence had in her dark pop tunes - so it looks like those 15 year old Emo days that we went through aren't quite over then Bron!
So whilst not wanting to sound like a complete numpty, Wide Eyed Love gave me a massive sense of pride. It's a great debut and any success that goes Bron's way is deserved; what with the 6/7 days a week gigging and the fact that she is completely self taught and writes and performs herself. Check out all of her social medias, she's a right laugh, and tracks from her EP below. Get over to Amazon and pre-order her album, coming out on the 18th of November.
Da iawn Bron, gwelai di am bint o gwrw yn Spoons cyn bo' hir beii!
Bronwen Lewis
Wide Eyed Love
Gwymon
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