These LITM Singer-Songwriter Picks are raw, emotional, and authentic – coming to you from artists like Sarah Sharp, Shapes Like People, Tommy Tee, and more!
1. Sarah Sharp – Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
Sarah Sharp’s reimagining of Bob Dylan’s classic, Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right is wonderfully tender and gentle. Where Bob Dylan’s original conceals resentment and bitterness under plucked strings that keep you floating just above the anger, Sharp’s version flips it on its head with a delicate piano arrangement that serves as the foundation for her airy vocals that sound light enough to float with the clouds, yet are weighed down just enough to stay grounded. As Sharp breathes these familiar lyrics out in a tone reminiscent of spoken word, she transports you into her world of reflection and contemplation effortlessly. Give it a listen here!
2. Shapes Like People – Lately
Shapes Like People’s latest release, Lately, is a shimmering, softly emotional track that brings elements of shoegaze and acoustic pop to its beautifully hazy atmosphere. It’s understated and restrained from its opening notes, building up to a subtle release in the chorus as it blooms open without overt fanfare. A song that’s calm and reassuring, it encourages you to hold on to what’s truly important, to what truly matters, even during the times when it feels like nothing does. Much of its power comes through its patient songwriting – the kind that rewards your patience in listening as well. Check Lately out here!
3. Tommy Tee – Holy Shit Joni
Tommy Tee’s Holy Shit Joni is unmistakably raw and vulnerable throughout. If you close your eyes and listen to it in a quiet room, it’ll immediately transport you to a cosy, dimly lit bar – with crowds singing along, slightly off-tune, warm and distant laughter, glasses clinking, and Tommy Tee’s voice front and centre over the ever-present, reassuring guitar, it’s a pleasant place to be. One of two songs from Tommy Tee’s latest – and first! – EP, it’s as unpolished as can be, while still being pleasant on the ear. This is a song you’ll find yourself reaching towards when you need the voices in your head to calm down – listen here!
4. Finlay Birch – Weight Will Unwind
If the feeling of standing by the ocean in the evening, sea spray on your face, wind in your hair, the only sound being the waves crashing and receding, was distilled into song, it’d probably sound like Weight Will Unwind. Scotland-based Finlay Birch’s latest release, the track remains a touch mystical even through Birch’s grounded, authentic vocals. Through its relatively short runtime of just over two minutes, it evolves into a force of nature, something to be reckoned with rather than just listened to. It offers meaning without spoonfeeding it, leaving space for you to interpret it how you’d like – listen to it here!
5. The Violent Years – Come To Me Lover
The Violent Years’ Come To Me Lover is quiet in every way: from its vocals to the backing instrumentals, it showcases restraint that tends to be only learnt with experience. A tender exploration of love, and how it wins over all, the song is real, using vivid yet simple imagery to express yearning. Towards the middle of the song, harmonies kick in, giving the whole thing dimension and depth, moving the song along so it never gets stagnant. The Violent Years have been creating music for over two decades now, and the mastery they’ve achieved over their craft is on full showcase on this track. Listen here!
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