We’ve just come out of studio time — and this one was different.
We recorded eight new tracks.
Just me and a guitar.
There’s no overthinking. No layering. No trying to make them into ‘something’. Just the songs… just as they were written.
That was very intentional.
I chose to start with the simplest songs first. The ones that feel like they can stand on their own without needing anything added.
There’s something honest about that.
But to be honest, something a pretty exposing too. Because there’s nowhere to go in a stripped-back recording. No production to soften the edges. No noise to hide behind.
Just truth.
So songs feel like a foundation. The starting point for stepping forward into what comes next.
Later, we’ll build. Maybe experiment. We’ll take the more complex tracks and let them become whatever they’re meant to be, but for right now — this felt right.
Simple. Direct. Real.
There was also a small moment in the studio that meant more to me than I expected when I got to play a Martin!
That was the guitar I wanted when I first decided to play. (Then I saw the price tag.)
In the end, I chose a Tanglewood — and I love her. Every song I’ve written has come through that guitar. She’s part of the sound and part of the story.
But still… sitting there, playing a Martin in the studio — there was something in that. A quiet full-circle moment. Or maybe just a glimpse of what’s possible…
The tracks we recorded:
- Hold Me Close
- If Only
- Over It
- Leave
- Make It Stop
- My Body: My Choice
- Bandage Me Up
- Falling Down
And we’ve started working on We Are Not Angry Enough — which we’re giving some breathing space before continuing with.
This is the beginning of the next chapter.
Feels real. There’s some raw vulnerability in there.
And that’s what I wanted.
Stay brave, stay powerful, and stay you. I’ll endeavour to do the same.