“Game of Cards is about finding someone you click with on a romantic level and how it really is a game of cards in that you don’t know what hand you’ll be dealt. It’s about the vulnerability of a blossoming relationship and not knowing where it’s headed.”
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Katy J Pearson has today shared ‘Game Of Cards’, the latest track from her forthcoming new album, ‘Sound of the Morning’ due for release on July 8th. The track follows the release of the first single ‘Talk Over Town.’
The track is accompanied by a playing card themed visualiser put together by Benjamin Spike Saunders, guitarist in Katy’s band and member of Bristol based creative visual/production/design collective Clump Collective.
♣ LISTEN AND WATCH ‘GAME OF CARDS’ HERE ♣
Talking about the track Katy said:
‘Game of Cards’ dates back two years ago, initially written with my friend Ben Hambro (who was the lead singer of Lazarus Kane). We hung out a lot together as I’d sing in his band, and he used to be part of the KJP ensemble. I forgot about the song for a while, then rediscovered it and sent to Heavenly who liked the chorus but the verse wasn’t quite working. I wanted to give it a chance so took it with me to the Dan Carey sessions where we assembled fresh verses – he really helped me work out where the song should go. ‘Game of Cards’ is about finding someone you click with on a romantic level and how it really is a game of cards in that you don’t know what hand you’ll be dealt. It’s about the vulnerability of a blossoming relationship and not knowing where it’s headed.”
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Written and recorded in late 2021, ‘Sound Of The Morning’ is co-produced by Ali Chant (Yard Act and the helm of Katy’s debut Return) and Speedy Wunderground head-honcho Dan Carey (Fontaines DC).
Katy’s debut album, Return, released in November 2020, saw her go from Bristolian newcomer to a critically-acclaimed breakthrough star, selling out shows up and down the UK. Praised for “the arresting quality of [her] Kate Bush-meets-Dolly Parton vocal delivery” by The Times, labelled as “finding humanity in every moment” by DIY and with lead single ‘Take Back The Radio’ described as “a whoop of pure joy” in the Guardian, amidst the bleak toll of lockdown, something about this curiously optimistic album began to really resonate.
It feels fitting then that, having provided an aural balm at just the right moment with her first album, its follow-up should reflect a world brimming with curiosity, back in action and wanting to expand its horizons. If Pearson’s extracurricular activities in recent months have shown that she can dip a toe into a multitude of genres – providing guest vocals on Orlando Weeks’ recent album ‘Hop Up’; popping up with Yard Act for a collaboration at End of the Road festival; singing on trad-folk collective Broadside Hacks’ 2021 project ‘Songs Without Authors’ – then forthcoming second album Sound of the Morning takes that spirit and runs with it. It’s still Katy J Pearson (read: effortlessly charming, full of heart and helmed by that inimitable vocal), but it’s Katy J Pearson pushing herself musically and lyrically into new waters.
It’s an album that’s as comfortable revelling in the more laid-back, Real Estate-esque melodies of lead single ‘Talk Over Town’ – a track that attempts to make sense of her recent experiences, of “being Katy from Gloucester, but then being Katy J Pearson who’s this buzzy new artist” – as it is basking in the American indie pop of ‘Float’, penned with longtime pal Oliver Wilde of Pet Shimmers, or experimenting with the buoyant brass of ‘Howl’, in which Orlando repays the favour with a vocal guest spot.
It all makes for a record that’s increasingly unafraid to explore life’s darker parts, but that does so with an openness that’s full of light. As an artist who professes to “always strive for the bittersweetness of things”, Sound of the Morning does just that, taking the listener’s hand and guiding them through the good and the bad, like the musical equivalent of an arm around the shoulder. “I want people to feel things with my music, but I don’t want to cause my listener too much trauma,” she notes with a cheeky glint. “Counselling is expensive, so you’ve got to pick your battles…”
✯ READ MORE ABOUT ‘SOUND OF THE MORNING’ HERE ✯
✯ ‘SOUND OF THE MORNING’ TRACK-LISTING ✯
The album will be available as a DL, CD plus regular and limited purple and clear vinyl editions.
✯ PRE-ORDER ‘SOUND OF THE MORNING’ ✯
To celebrate the albums release, a run of in-store events are taking place across the UK in July ahead of summer festival shows. Katy then hits the road in the Autumn for an extensive tour playing her biggest shows to date.
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