Katy J Pearson Shares New Single 'Float'

Katy J Pearson, who last week appeared on Later..with Jools Holland, has today shared "Float", the latest track from her forthcoming new album, Sound of the Morning, that will be released on Heavenly Recordings on July 8th, 2022.

This follows previous tracks, the 6Music A-listed "Talk Over Town" , "Alligator" and '"Game Of Cards"

"Float" features black midi's Morgan Simpson on drums and was co-written with Oliver Wilde, frontman of cult band Pet Shimmers, who made their own return yesterday with a new single on Bob Nastanovich of Pavement's Brokers Tip label.

Commenting on the track, Katy said: "I wrote this track with Oliver Wilde, a founding member of the excellent Pet Shimmers - he's been at the centre of the Bristol music community for several years. For the new album, I wanted to collaborate with some of my peers that I admire, so I jammed with Oli for a few weeks - he'd come round with his laptop and interface and we'd write songs together. Float is one of the tracks that came out of those writing sessions and as soon as we wrote it I knew that it had to be on the record; it was one of my favourites to write and I love it. It has such an atmosphere and I think you can really feel the emotion and pain of the song; it's about life experiences and all the things that lead up to certain moments. It's quite nostalgic and given the past two years we have had, references wondering about when things will become more stable again."

Written and recorded in late 2021, the album 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 (read: effortlessly charming, full of heart and helmed by that inimitable vocal), 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 favor 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. Full dates are listed below.

Listen to the new single here:

TOUR DATES

5/1/2022 - Sounds From The Other City - LIVERPOOL

5/12/2022-/5/14/2022 - The Great Escape - BRIGHTON

5/27/2022 - Sea Change - TOTNES

5/28/2022 - Wide Awake - LONDON

6/4/2022 - Art Rock - SAINT BRIEUC, FR

6/12/2022 - Kite - OXFORD

6/19/2022- Bigfoot - NORTHAMPTON

6/26/2022 - Lloyds Ampitheatre (with First Aid Kit) - BRISTOL

7/7/2022 - Third Man - LONDON (lunchtime solo show) *

7/7/2022 - Fighting Cocks - KINGSTON (evening full band show) *

7/8/2022 - Rough Trade - BRISTOL (full band show) *

7/9/2022 - Pie & Vinyl - SOUTHSEA (lunchtime 4-piece show) *

7/9/2022 - Resident - BRIGHTON (evening 4-piece show) *

7/10/2022 - Rough Trade - NOTTINGHAM (lunchtime 4-piece show) *

11.07.22 - Jumbo - LEEDS (4-piece show) *

7/12/2022 - Rough Trade East - LONDON (full band show) *

7/13/2022 - Friendly Records - BRISTOL (4-piece show) *

7/22/2022 - Bluedot - MACCLESFIELD

7/23/2022 - Latitude - SOUTHWOLD

7/29/2022 - Deer Shed - THIRSK

8/10/2022 - Winterthurer Musilfestwochen - WINTERTHUR, CH

8/19/2022 - Green Man - CRICKHOWELL

8/21/2022 - Beautiful Days - OTTERY ST MARY, DEVON

9/8/2022 - Trinity - BRISTOL

9/9/2022 - Cornish Bank - FALMOUTH

9/10/2022 - Cavern - EXETER

9/11/2022 - Joiners - SOUTHAMPTON

9/13/2022 - Chalk - BRIGHTON

9/14/2022 - Olby's - MARGATE

9/15/2022 - Electric Ballroom - LONDON

9/17/2022 - Brudenell Social Club - LEEDS

9/18/2022 - The Cluny - NEWCASTLE

9/20/2022 - Voodoo Rooms - EDINBURGH

9/21/2022 - Mono - GLASGOW

9/22/2022 - Gorilla - MANCHESTER

9/24/2022 - Float Along - SHEFFIELD

9/15/2022 - Rescue Rooms - NOTTINGHAM

9/27/2022 - Clwb Ifor Bach - CARDIFF

9/28/2022 - Hare & Hounds - BIRMINGHAM

9/30/2022- The Bullingdon - OXFORD

10/1/2022 - Ritual Union - BRISTOL

11/4/2022 - Pier 2 - BREMEN, DE ^

11/5/2022 - Tempodrom - BERLIN, DE ^

11/7/2022 - Cirque Royal - BRUSSELS, BE ^

11/8/2022 - Royal Carré - AMSTERDAM, NL ^

^ with Pavement

* in-store shows

To post a comment, you must register and login.