Single Review - Happier - First Time Flyers

First Time Flyers must be the most talked about new group in UK Country Music since… well, since ever!  In all honesty, it isn’t a great surprise – they have proactive professional management, an excellent teaser campaign and all the members are well versed in social media promotion as each of them are well known in their own rights.

 

There is of course the small matter of each of the four being well thought of and established, successful artists before coming together to create what has been termed “a supergroup”.

 

Simply putting four very good artists on the same stage though is not necessarily going to be an instant success.  The proof will come from hearing them perform, either on stage or on a recording – and as luck would have it, the first single Happier is out this Friday, 20 January.

 

As well has being in on the secret for some months, we also had one of the first listens to the single.

 

(c) Ryan Lavender

If you’re not sure who First Time Flyers are, the band is made up of Vicki Manser, Poppy Fardell, TimProttey-Jones and Jake Morrell.  Having had the pleasure of hosting Vicki, Poppy and Tim on stage at Buckle and Boots Festival, we can certainly testify to their stage presence and sheer energy – all three have a stage background which really comes across in all they do.  Jake has had a different but stellar start to his career and is therefore perfect to combine with the other three – as well as being a close friend!

 

All of this makes Happier a fabulous first single – the performance styles, the effortless mix of voices topped off with great instrumentation.  The opening bars grab you and promise what is to come – a mix of energy and melancholy achieved by the instruments reaching a mini crescendo before the vocals kick in.  The song has been described to us as upbeat yet angst filled and that it weaves harmony and heartbreak – which is just what we want from a (pop) country song.

You could try and work out which voice is which as they sing about doing the right thing for someone else and breaking your own heart in the process but in reality it is unnecessary, these four combine with fantastic harmonies and no one voice competing to be on top – and you just know that that will be the ethos behind this band.  The male/female sounds are reminiscent of Lady A at their best, but with a definite UK feel.

 

Leaving aside – for a moment – the pedigree of the four, Happier is without a doubt one of the best UK Country singles of the last 12 months, and sets the tone for what is to come from this new group.

 

Happier, the first single from new group First Time Flyers is available to download and stream from Friday 20 January

 

Find and follow the band on Facebook and Instagram 

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