Since we last reviewed Annie Booth as a solo artist, 2014’s Steady Heart EP, she has grown into a mainstay of the Scottish movement as part alt-rock stalwarts Mt. Doubt, now three years later she’s back with her debut solo album An Unforgiving Light, due for release this October.
‘Chasm’ is the first single from that release we’ve been giving the opportunity to premiere it here, it’s a lyric-driven beauty that builds over a chirpy alt-rock enthused rhythms as Booth’s warm silky voice teases over the top in a conversational yet heartfelt tone.
Booth said “’Chasm’ is about the barriers we put up between ourselves and others to feel better/more comfortable when in fact it makes us more distant than ever.
“I wrote it in fragments – the whole thing feels uneasy yet somehow urgent. I feel like the band brought a lot to the original stripped back arrangement.”
Three years ago, Booth displayed a knack for cleverly written songs, but there was a raw element about the release the has been honed in on here, clearly her experiences with the band have evolved her sound, making her not just one to look out for in the Scottish folk scene but on a much wider scale, both musically and geographically.
An Unforgiving Light is released on October 20 via Scottish Fiction and Last Night From Glasgow and is launched at Edinburgh’s Sneaky Pete’s on October 19 and Glasgow’s Hug and Pint on October 20 with support on both dates from Laurence Made Me Cry and Jareb Celosse.
Rave Child 