One of my favourite things about the Christmas and New Year holiday break is the spare time that it gives to revisit records that may have slipped by the wayside a little and give them some further attention. One such album that I’ve found myself returning to in this manner is Gabrielle Aplin’s second album Light Up The Dark.
For this release Aplin progressed her sound significantly, from breathy acoustic singer-songwriter with a knack for a pop melody to something more akin to Sheryl Crow or KT Tunstall. Light Up The Dark is a bolder, punchier, rockier record that manages to retain an emotional core; there’s a fair few songs about being isolated and lonely, although they're not necessarily sung from her own perspective - they could be other's stories. Through its re-appraisal I’ve discovered it’s a body of work that gets better on every listen - there’s some really strong songs and musicianship on it. Maybe if I’d run my albums of the year list at the start of January 2016 rather than midway through December it might have even sneaked on to the lower reaches of the top 10. It certainly would have been close. For arguments sake I’ll put it at number 11.
But whilst I was getting reacquainted with Gabrielle, with a glass of iced Baileys in hand, she gave us a little Christmas treat, uploading a demo version of a piano based ballad called In Your Arms to You Tube and subsequently yesterday onto Soundcloud. Written with Foy Vance and Luke Potashnick it’s a track that didn’t make it onto her album. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a good tune though, far from it, it’s absolutely lovely, but we can see how it might not have quite been the right fit for Light Up The Dark. Take a listen below and then if you haven't done so already give Light Up The Dark a try - even if you haven't been a fan of Aplin before, you might be pleasantly surprised.
Gabrielle Aplin - In Your Arms (Demo)
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