Katy J Pearson has shared details of her stunning new album, ‘Sound of the Morning’, released on Heavenly Recordings on Friday 8th July 2022, the video for the first track to be taken from the album, ‘Talk Over Town’, as well as her largest headline tour to date.
Talking about the video, director Abbie Stephens said:
This video was such a joy to shoot – to meet Katy and work with such an open artist who brought so much of herself to the video was a real treat. She is a brilliant collaborator and an artist set for big big things. I love nothing more than creating visual worlds and designing aesthetics to fit with the sound of exciting new artists. This video became a comment on that, how for recording artists there is pressure to be the face of their music, and to package it up visually. I wanted to shed light on the music video through the eyes of Katy, the joy and also the beautiful bizarreness.
We had an amazing girl crew on this job and it really made for a great vibe on set. Thank you to Beatrix Sastre and her crew who made each set-up look like a painting, to Gabby Sellen on art dept who gave everything and more, and to the wonderful Stina Campagna and Nohelia Reyes on Styling and Makeup.
Written and recorded in late 2021, Katy’s latest effort 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, 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…”
Finally, having most recently played a sold-out show at London’s Village Underground, where she was joined by guests Orlando Weeks and a brass section assembled by members of Black Country New Road and caroline, Katy heads out in September for a headline UK tour, before which, she plays a number of summer festivals across the country. Tickets can be found here.
