Essex born and bred singer songwriter Liam Holmes had a long wait in between the release of his first and second EPs – six years in fact! That’s not to say that he wasn’t making music in that time, it was just more live gigs than recordings. Happily for us, his second EP, Loyalty, was released in January 2018 and was worth the wait. A cohesive collection of soul tinged pop tracks that remind us that he started out writing lyrics to the rhythms of grime and garage, Liam offers the listener five tracks that examine love in all it’s beauty and ugliness.
The opening track and first single, ‘Locked Up’, starts us off on this journey through the ups and downs of love and this is very definitely love at it’s worst. Liam’s lyrics describe this from the point of view of someone trapped inside love, love as a prison, with words such as shackles and chains prevalent all through. Lyrics such as “she takes me away from common sense” and “took a chance on a bad roll of the dice” are indicative of a writer used to writing to a strict rhythm – these lyrics would work well with any musical beat.
Before you read on, Liam is giving a FREE download of “Locked Up”, to Angry Baby readers. If you’re not already subscribed to Angry Baby, just pop the email address that you’d like it delivered to here and it will be on its way to you straight away, together with a bumper collection of music that has been shared by Angry Baby. The music comes from outstanding artists that you may not have heard before. With a mix of rock, pop, folk…you name it…there’s bound to be something new that floats your musical boat, and all for free! What’s not to like about that?!
The stand out track for me is ‘Sober’. The fourth track on the EP and we are well on the way to the happier end of the ups and downs on love as seen through Liam’s eyes. A very catchy hook will have you singing along well before the end of the song and it’s overall a happy, upbeat song. Again showing his witty lyrics that could go with any beat, ‘Sober’ guides us through the stage of loving someone where you’re in love but don’t want to admit it just yet. “I’m love drunk, sober for your love” and “I’m not in love, it’s just a crush on you, I am sober” portray the delights and pains of early love.
Bringing the exploration of love to a happy ending (who doesn’t love a happy ending) is the final track, ‘I Swear To You’. Startlingly different in it’s sound and approach to the other tracks, Liam’s vocals are accompanied only by the piano. The song courses it way through a declaration of love, showing love as strength, rounding off the five track exploration of emotion perfectly.
Loyalty has a great sound, infusing soul and pop with lyrics that fit right into the rhythms and beats. The more upbeat tracks are also reminiscent of grime and hip hop, making Liam Holmes an interesting one to watch for the future.
Loyalty was released on February 14th. Get your copy xxx
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