Foreign Affairs
 
Publisher: Peer Music 
Label: Foreign Affairs Music LTD / Absolute Label Services 
Management: dmyerscough-harris@peermusic.com

'Big Hurt Boy' is out now: https://linktr.ee/donovanwoods

Donovan Woods was in on the joke when he named his latest release. Riffing on a lyric from a Martin Simpson song (“Never Any Good”), Big Hurt Boy is a six-song exploration of how our failures — and our fixations on them — not only shape but enlighten us.

“I write about them again and again, just hoping people will still be interested,” the acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter says. “So the title is poking fun of myself, that I’m theoretically this big sad guy who keeps getting dumped and writing fucking songs about it.”

Or you could think of it this way: Woods’ deep curiosity about the human condition is why we so clearly hear our own stories in his. The details differ, the characters change, but at their core, Donovan Woods songs are for and about everyone.

That’s particularly apparent on his new EP, which will be released March 18, 2022. Trying to capture more of an “undone” quality, Woods wanted his latest songs to “get back to the feeling that my early recordings had.” You hear that in the spare, subtle ache of “No Time Soon,” an acoustic monologue Woods describes as “the story of my whole life.”

“These are smaller, less polished songs than the ones I’ve been putting out recently,” says Woods, winner of the 2019 Juno Award for contemporary roots album (for Both Ways) and whose global streams have surpassed 210 million.

Still, Big Hurt Boy brims with some of the luminous production touches Woods has been adding to this repertoire lately. He wrote the album opener, “I Won’t Mention It Again,” on banjo, which fades into a spectral backdrop of electronic textures and layers of lush harmonies. 

A co-write with Peter Groenwald, “Leave When You Go” simmers with an R&B vibe backed by sensuous vocals from indie-pop artist Ralph. “A Picture of Us Smiling at a Party Five Years Ago,” which reunites Woods with Katie Pruitt (who co-wrote and sang on Woods’ “She Waits for Me to Come Back Down”), untangles how our memories are often preserved by photos. “It’s about nostalgia, which is just a memory that doesn’t have any of the stress or dread or anxiety that the real-time experience had,” Woods says.

“I Hope You Change Your Mind,” co-written with David Hodges, is such an understated tearjerker that you don’t even realize the relationship is over until the last line. “That song is about that back-end portion of a relationship when everyone knows the score but no one wants to say it,” Woods says. “It’s loving someone so much that you’re not sure how to be mad at them, so you twist yourself into knots.” 

Big Hurt Boy is the follow-up to 2020’s Without People, Woods’ celebrated album he made in isolation at the height of the pandemic. Whereas those songs were recorded in a makeshift studio at his Toronto home, with collaborators working remotely, his latest release harnesses the electricity of a roomful of musicians laying down tracks live in the studio, a first for Woods.

As an in-demand songwriter whose work has been recorded by the likes of Tim McGraw (“Portland, Maine”) and Lady A’s Charles Kelley (“Leaving Nashville”), Woods has been venturing beyond the singer-songwriter scene where he first cut his teeth. Equally at home in folk and country, he has worked with songwriters such as Tom Douglas, Lori McKenna, Brandy Clark, Ashley Monroe, Dustin Christensen, Femke Weidema, Steve Robson, and Ed Robertson (Barenaked Ladies).

Each of these collaborations has highlighted a budding truth about Woods: As respected as he is as a solo artist, he’s evolving and upending our expectations of how his music sounds. His songs have grown more dimensional, emboldened by new sonic landscapes, reminding us that classic songwriting transcends genre.

Ben Howard returns with his 4th album, Collections From The Whiteout, produced alongside Aaron Dessner (The National). The foreboding darkness that coated Ben’s second record I Forget Where We Were and thinly veiled its follow up Noonday Dream, isn’t so evident on Collections. These are songs written from headlines scanned, or news stories scrolled past, providing inspiration for a selection of vivid narrative snapshots – the death of amateur sailor Donald Crowhurst (Crowhurst’s Meme); Russian fraudster Anna Sorokin (Sorry Kid); the man who stole and crashed a plane in Seattle (The Strange Last Flight Of Richard Russell); and the dismembered body a friend of his father found in a suitcase floating along the Thames (Finders Keepers). Alongside them, the personal anecdotes from the same scattered period living between Paris, Devon and Spain. Yussef Dayes features, as does Kate Stables (This Is The Kit), James Krivchenia (Big Thief), Kyle Keegan (Hiss Golden Messenger), and Dessner. Thomas Bartlett, St. Vincent’s go-to pianist, and Rob Moose, a long-standing arranger of strings for Bon Iver, are also present. Long-term guitarist to Ben’s band, Mickey Smith (A Blaze of Feather), remains a reassuring constant. It’s a sonic adventure that continues this nagging suggestion that Ben is one of the UK’s most inventive and naturally talented songwriters. CFTW is his latest opus, and arguably his most fully realised to date.

My new album 'Pillars' is out now! I can't wait for you to hear it. 

Multi-award winner Jack Garratt makes his very welcomed return with the announcement of third album ‘Pillars’. Marking his first full-length project in five years, ‘Pillars’ is vibrant, emotionally-charged and a celebration of love, community, and self-discovery.

The album’s journey begins with explosive first single ‘Catherine Wheel’. More than just a comeback single - the track is a statement of intent for Pillars and emerged from a period of self-doubt and creative rebirth. “I was fully ready to quit music,” Garratt admits. “But Catherine Wheel became my true north - it reignited my love for creating and set the tone for the entire album.”

Since winning the Brits’ Critics’ Choice Award and the BBC Sound Of poll in 2016, Jack Garratt has released two critically acclaimed, Top 10 albums, Phase (2016) and Love, Death & Dancing (2020). Known for electrifying live performances and a genre-defying sound, Jack continues to push boundaries with his deeply personal and sonically adventurous music, with ‘Pillars’ being no exception.

@chancetherapper
The Social Experiment
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“Picked by our head of music, there is no higher endorsement than that!” - Sarah Champion, Absolute Radio**

In September 2013, Robert Bearsby released his first single 'Late Nights & Traffic Lights'. He managed to reach No.40 in the UK singer/songwriter chart on iTunes, No.15 in the NZ singer/songwriter chart on iTunes, was selected to be a part of the Topman/Burton video jukebox playlist, achieved radio play on a number of regional radio stations and was even selected for a front page feature on Muzu.tv.

“One of the strongest solo artists on the scene for a very long time!” - Wynona Grant, Fortitude Magazine**

Robert's second single 'I'll Adore You, For Tonight.' was picked up by the head of music at Absolute Radio, and played by Sarah Champion as part of her emerging icons feature. Last but not least Robert released his debut EP in March 2014 with his third single 'This Ain't The Easy Life'. The track was picked up by VEVO and Robert was given his very own VEVO channel as well as a promotional push in the US. The single also saw Robert played on almost every regional BBC Radio Station in the UK and a number of features in printed press and online blogs including Fortitude Magazine, Limelight Magazine and Music Mafia Magazine.

“A great performer with a voice you want to keep listening to, I can’t wait to watch and hear his career.” - Dominic King, BBC Radio Kent**

Since the release of his debut EP Robert has sold out every headline show he has attempted, he has played shows throughout the UK including a number of headline shows in Europe. His audience has continued to grow throughout 2014 and now after just one year in the industry Robert is set to headline the Hoxton Bar & Kitchen on the 3rd of April.

Robert's new EP 'This One's For You' will be available for pre-order from the 1st of March and the whole EP will be available to download from all major online distributors from the 5th of April.

“Great sound... Great Vocal.” - Ben Woodcock, Muzu.tv

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