· Darrell Smith · Reviews
‘Heartshaker’ Is An Uplifting Prelude To Tom Speight’s Album
The latest uplifting single from London based Tom Speight is a refreshing escape, a majestic and exquisitely realised slice of acoustically driven pop. ‘Heartshaker’ is the fourth release from his upcoming album ‘Collide’, and he has been gaining much deserved support from Radio 2. This is yet another track which will be highly deserving of some serious Radio play.
On the track, Tom quotes, “‘Heartshaker’ was written after travelling back from New York City. I was in a relationship at the time and it felt like everything was moving very fast for me and I was struggling to take it all in! I got back from the trip & finally had a chance to write about how I was feeling and had time to process the feeling of being afraid of being left behind in a relationship.”
The production displayed here is marvellous, everything wonderfully balanced and clean, never allowing any of the instrumentation to become hidden amongst the mix. Hints of reverb and echo on the vocals add distance and power to the song, especially with the backing vocals. The guitar aids the melody of Toms vocals well, as the bass playfully adds a huge punch to the rhythm section. The drums are particularly powerful too. Interesting guitar sections also aid the vocals amongst the verses and add a greater amount of layer and detail, allowing for greater replay value.
There is even a short guitar solo, heavily filled with reverb which takes the track to a whole other level. While it is hardly complex, it shows that sometimes less is more and is expertly played. It complements the slow section that follows as the song slowly picks back up for the close.
‘Heartshaker’ is a truly mesmerising effort. It is a track with depth, requiring many listens to fully experience everything that is on display. It is wonderfully uplifting with beautiful vocal harmonies and is a definite anthem for the summer ahead.
UK Headline Tour
April 17 Whelans, Dublin, Ireland
April 18 Cyprus Avenue, Cork, Ireland
April 19 Roisin Dubh, Galway, Ireland
April 20 Voodoo, Belfast
April 24 The Louisiana, Bristol
April 25 The Night & Day Café, Manchester
May 2 Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds
May 3 The Hug & Pint, Glasgow
May 4 Sneaky Petes Edinburgh
May 5 Hit the North Festival, Newcastle
May 7 Omeara, London
Tom Speight’s forthcoming album ’Collide’ will be released on April 12th 2019.