Wow. That's the only word to describe 'Battles', the new single from the Side 4 Collective led by Frames and Josh Ritter drummer Dave Hingerty.
This latest 4 mins 24 secs of sonic joy was co-written by Dave with Joe Chester and Sarah McQuillan who's sessioned in the past with the likes of Ross Breen, Tucan and The Hot Sprockets and also operates under the guises of Sarah Red and Haokah.
"By the time what would become 'Battles' reached me, it was a track containing Dave's hypnotic drumbeat and Joe's beautiful piano piece and on first listen it inspired the melody," Sarah explains. "This song was born out of my own inner battles and as a plea to heal a connection weakened by them. It is a personal battle that is also universal. I hope that others can connect with that."
With Anthony Gibney taking care of the mix, the piano-driven ballad couldn't sound any more luscious. There's a definite jazzy thing going on and, as noted by the S4C crew, a bit of an early Radiohead vibe. As for Sarah's voice, we refer you back to our earlier comment: "Wow!"
It's a taster from We Burn Bright, the Side 4 Collective album which follows on May 29. The full track-listing is: Josh Ritter -'Desperate Days', Farah Elle - 'Sand And Sails', Aminah/Con - 'Freedom Will Come', Brian Crosby/Sir Ken Robinson - 'Cloths of Heaven', Paul Noonan/Adam Marcello - 'The Flood', Superelectric - 'I Got Life', Sarah McQuillan/Joe Chester - 'Battles', Temperance Cruise - 'The Slumber',
Ben Castle - 'Don’t Do It', Romy/Cathal Coughlan - 'Numb', Carol Keogh - 'Cold Front' and Adrian Crowley - 'Little Prince Of Fireworks'.
It's being released by Ann Marie Shields' AMS Records who have some other crackers coming up. Stay tuned to hotpress.com for details!