- 2021-08-10
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MUSIC
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Natalie McCool Releases New Album “Memory Girl”: Streaming
British singer-songwriter Natalie McCool released her sophomore album “Memory Girl” on July 30, 2021. It is her first album in five years.
The album comprises of 10-track, including new 5 tracks and preceding 5 singles “Closure”, “Heaven”, “Devils”, “A Sun Going Down” and “Take Me To Your Leader”.
The album features modern pop, '80s synth and '90s pop rock sound.
“'Memory Girl' is about childhood and adulthood,” Natalie McCool said of the album. “Songs that feel introspective. Songs about not having a voice, finding a voice, jealousy, love, loss and peace. It's about things that have left a deep mark on you one way or another, those moments from the past that hit you and knock you sideways, either making you laugh out loud or nearly die of embarrassment. It has a strong focus on the habits and mental state of myself and those very close to me. It's really close and introspective. It's about discovering yourself, recognising what's good for you and what's not – it's about learning curves.”
She added,“I'm really excited to release the album and it's full of these themes: self acceptance, finding your people, belonging somewhere, dealing with social anxiety and 'otherness', the album's like an emotional learning curve for me and I'm really proud of it.”
She will launch the album live show at Jaguar Shoes in London on August 18th and at Kazimier Stockroom in Liverpool on August 19th.- XMXZU1P7BP0
- XMXZU1P7BP0
Natalie McCool explained track-by-track for the album.
“Heaven”
”When I go to heaven, will I remember how it feels?” Heaven is a state of never forgetting how good or right something was, even if you're viewing it through rose tinted shades, or in hindsight; even if its so overpowering it drags you right back to square one – back to that time and place. Today I took a walk on the wild side, such brave talk – I thought of you and the tiger died. Heaven is that safe place where you can envelop yourself with a memory – and although you might feel the 'grown up' thing to do is just move on – youre spellbound by it.”
“Devils”
“Devils is essentially about allowing yourself every once in a while to give into emotions that are traditionally seen as negative, and that's okay, because we are only human and need to experience and accept these feelings to be whole. I think giving someone the space and support to say anything and everything they are experiencing or thinking, and for that also to be ok, is an amazing way to accept and move on. In a way it's taking away the stigma and shame of these feelings and turning the experience into something positive that will make you stronger.”
“Closure”
“Have you ever wanted to get over someone so much that you figuratively bury them? 'Closure' is the journey you take to finally slamming the door on that person. It's a high energy middle finger to your once beloved. What I imagine people doing when they listen to this song is bouncing around singing the chorus at the top of their lungs – I wanted to create something that is anthemic but also full of humour. Because sometimes, crying and laughing are not so different from one another. When you are suffering from loss & grief from a bond that's been broken, the emotions you feel are very complex and numerous, the facets of a break-up are many – like a rainbow. This idea interests me because rainbows are always seen as positive, and I believe going through that range of feeling is also positive because it's a necessary process FOR closure.”-
“A Sun Going Down”
“This song is not about the obvious things that happened last year, more about my personal mindset and feelings, it's about the dawning of intuition, a slow but staggering realisation that you dont need a person, and the finality of walking forward without them – forever. The video for A Sun Going Down was filmed on Formby beach in Liverpool, the day was hot but the night was cold! We wanted to capture the clarity of the sunset over the water, the huge horizon and beautiful colours, translating the song into image. Robin Clewley shot & produced the video, he also shoots my photos for each release so it was great to work with him. I think the video is so beautiful and perfectly captures the strength and life in the song.”
“Take Me To Your Leader”
"So I asked my friend Katy to be my alter ego - and I absolutely love the shots of us together. It exactly captures what I had in my head all along. Hats off to IXIOD, who directed and produced the video, and Robin Clewley on photography. With the video, we wanted to echo the album themes of belonging, reflections and the idea of ego. As the song is quite contrasting - the intro & verses are quite dark but the chorus really lifts, we wanted to mirror that too, so there's the aesthetic of darkness and light and kaleidoscopic textures.”
“Old Movies”
“'Old Movies' was the last track I wrote for the album. In the minutiae of life during lockdown I'd find myself working or doing something around the house and suddenly out of nowhere have this memory of something I've said or done in the past that I'm mortified by, and it would just hit me out of nowhere, and I'd agonise over it for ages. So 'Old Movies' came out as an acceptance of those moments, however mortifying or embarrassing, just accept it's in the past and you can move on. The chorus 'sing yourself a new song' has become some kind of mantra for me now, for when those moments hit.” - source : Apple Music
