A Permanent Shadow, the musical collective around CP Fletcher, returns with a standalone single called “A Xmas Gift in May”. The song will be available in three different versions from May 19th. Originally titled “Black Lolita”, the track was initially not intended for release, but CP changed his mind after listening back to the original version sung by a guest vocalist. “I had all but forgotten about the song, but I accidentally found a copy on my hard drive and thought that it would be a shame not to re-record and release it with a different title as A Permanent Shadow.” 
The original was recorded in 2021 as a birthday gift for a soon-to-be past flame of CP’s, inspired by the rather rocky beginning of a relationship that eventually proved short-lived and turbulent. “I wrote this song in a state of absolute euphoria and an unbearable urge to be with a person who in hindsight was not for me. All the red flags were there but I refused to acknowledge them.” 

“A Xmas Gift in May” will be released in its original arrangement which features some interesting musical references to classic Sixties pop like “All you Need Is Love”, albeit in a modern guise using a metronomic backbeat and modern-day production values. CP is especially fond of a remix performed by longtime collaborator Valen Nieto which leans heavily on elements of Eighties Italo Disco. The EP release is completed with an intimate take consisting of piano and lead vocals only. 

However, none of the EP versions will be included on A Permanent Shadow’s next album, tentatively called “No Leaf Clover” and out in autumn 2023. “This song and another standalone single we are planning to release will not feature on the long play”, states Fletcher. “The album has a different sound and narrative that neither of these two compositions would fit in with. A straight love song like this one would be at odds with the rather bleak lyrical themes that the album deals with.”

“I strongly believe in A Xmas Gift in May”, asserts Fletcher. “It’s a heartfelt piece of romanticism, which is a rare subject matter for me to write about. I have fond memories of the rollercoaster ride which was my life when I wrote it, and I hope we’ve managed to pack some of that desire, longing and uncertainty into the song’s spirit.”


A Xmas Gift in May (Italo Remix)

A Permanent Shadow