Album Review - Rebegin - Jade Helliwell

 

What can we say about Jade that we haven’t said before?  We’ve known Jade both professionally and personally for years now, spent time with her on festival stages, green rooms, award shows and in quieter moments post show and during those festivals.  Although her arrival on the scene was pretty spectacular (how many views now on THAT video?) and despite winning many awards, Jade is still – well, Jade!

We’ve all seen her sing her own creations, duet with other UK artists and absolutely rock the stage with the Honky Tonk Roadshow and those big finale shows at Buckle and Boots, we’ve seen her play intimate shows with all the same energy and professionalism too.

Performer, songwriter and now mother, Jade has never sat still.  Never really “re-inventing” herself, Jade keeps pushing, pushing at the industry, pushing at the genre and pushing at herself.  Girls Night In, The Company You Keep, Do You Know Any Oasis, One Night Stand – it feels like there’s just no limits!

Its not scattergun though, Jade is taking stock of her life and career, which leads us to her new album.  Rebegin is as much a statement as a body of work.  We’ve heard some of the tracks as singles, we’ve heard some live, but put together it shows us where Jade is, and where she’s going.  Blending emotional songs (Rebegin, Monster) with pure power (Drink You Outta My Mind) the focus is on her vocal, although with husband Luke Thomas in her corner, the instrumentation is obviously superb.  The vocal – even the slower tracks have power to them, Jade sings them like she means every word, because she does!  The words themselves are powerful, with the album featuring additional writing by producer Alyssa Bonagura, Laura Oakes, Phil Donnelly, and Jessica Thristan.  The writing reflects Country – it’s honest storytelling, and it comes from the heart.

So, great vocals, great instrumentation, great songwriting.  An album that means something and is very listenable.  What else could we ask for?  Well, a tour obviously!  Live performances are the backbone of music, especially Country.  You can sit at home listening to this album (and you really should!) but to hear it live, to hear Jade talk about the songs (we can’t imagine Jade on stage not talking!) has to be the best way to experience it. 

Playing across the UK from April 20 you can catch Jade in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow, and Leeds before she takes a breath ahead of festival season, starting at Buckle and Boots.

I changed my name, changed my address and I let some people go.  I got a baby on the way, something I didn’t think Id say for a while, but I wouldn’t change a thing, I’m ready to rebegin.

It’s a new chapter for Jade in so many ways, and we’re thrilled to see it – and excited for what comes next!

Rebegin, The new album from Jade Helliwell is available to presave now and download from Friday 20 March.  Tickets for the Rebegin tour can be found on her website.

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Single Review - Glitter Curtain - Scarlett Whincup

 The airing of TV shows such as American Idol/Pop idol, the Voice and American/Britain’s Got Talent, many individuals are looking for the fast track to success, with rapid exposure and a helping hand to kick start a music career. However, for many (and definitely before the mid-1990s) exposure meant playing and singing as much as possible, often on the social club circuit.

We have heard of this experience before: Kezia Gill sings about her father making it on his own, singing for a living in the back street bars in Local Man’s Star.  Well, when you get people of a certain age together, add a little alcohol to the mix, they talk about shared experiences.

That’s exactly what happened at a certain festival in Leicestershire last year. Laughing about the poor facilities, the “you need to move your car”, the incorrect names and bingo takes priority, it was agreed that one item made all the difference in everyone’s eyes. The glitter curtain, no matter the size it announced the entrance of the performer and commanded quite a lot of respect, if only for 5 minutes until you decided if they were any good.

It was agreed that it would make an excellent song title.

Scarlett Whincup has delivered, singing about her own real-life experiences. Giving tribute to that Glitter Curtain where it all began and continued to grow.  "A kid in cowboy boots" is a subtle hint at her young age when she started, reflecting her love of singing regardless of the setting or the number in the audience.

  With a distinctive start, guitar and drums, Scarlett’s deep voice that hints at her Yorkshire roots sets the scene and tells her own story of being the one on stage under the spotlight. If you have ever been in a social club, you can picture the stage and all the antics that happen in front of it that threaten to disrupt the performance.  Scarlett has given you a peek behind the scenes - dust, clutter, let’s not mention the sink, and a mirror covered in stickers, but one that shows who you will be compared to. She also talks of the family support needed along the journey.

Despite the tale, it is upbeat and will have you toe tapping along, you may even join Scarlett with a smile when she tells of the smile on her own face. The tempo gently increases and you’ll be struggling to stay still and not join in before the song is halfway through.  It’s heart-warming and should give you confidence.

Watch out for the accompanying line dance which is being choreographed by Alex Wise (Wise Move line dancing and Co-founder of Pure Country Music and Dance Festival).

Scarlet isn’t hiding in the shadows these days and has a busy schedule on top of a full-time job, jumping into any open-mic spot that opens. So, there is plenty of opportunities to see her perform live. Check out her website:

scarlettwhincup.co.uk/

I should add that a few other titles were also suggested, so fingers crossed for a full-on album soon.

 

Glitter Curtain, the new single from Scarlett Whincup is available to pre-save now and download/stream from Thursday 12 September.

Find Scarlett on Facebook and Instagram, and follow her music on Spotify

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