The Only Way Out Is Through (8/9/20)

The Only Way Out Is Through (8/9/20)

Homepage Feature Letterbox Releases Singles


Release date: 8th September 2020
Label: My Big Sister Recordings
Distributor: Southern Record Distributors

GET THE SONG

+ Download PWYW from Bandcamp.
+ Get all Penfriend singles PLUS unreleased track “Cancel Your Hopes” FREE when you join The Correspondent’s Club.
+ Search for “Penfriend” on your music platform of choice.

ABOUT THE SONG

I can’t do much of anything when I’m feeling down, let alone write a song about it, but one day in 2019 when I was trudging my way back, I made an attempt to leave a breadcrumb trail for my future self.

“The Only Way Out Is Through” is my attempt to trap the “shapeless forces” that “pull at me”, making them solid by assigning words to them, reducing their power and size to something I might feasibly be able to overcome. The aspirational sentiment that “resistance is crucial, forgiveness is beautiful” is one I find very hard to enact in the moment, but something I can at least continue to strive for.

Ironically, this song is being released during my lowest fortnight of the last 12 months, so the safety line of lyrics I knotted inside the music is a helpful reminder of brighter days.

The choice to release music in a universally dark time isn’t one I take lightly. “The Only Way Out Is Through” is the most resonant and useful piece of music I have to offer right now, a rescue raft for whoever needs one.

That’s what this song is for me.

LYRICS 

Gotta get out of this
Making a meal of distress
Fatalistic to the bone
Thunderclouds in every home
Gotta get out of this

The only way out is through
Not gonna lose my heart – I never meant to
The only way out is through

Gotta get out of this
Drowning in yesterday’s tears
Intimate conspiracies
Shapeless forces pull at me
Gotta get out of this

The only way out is through
Not gonna lose my heart – I never meant to
The only way out is through


The only way out is through
Not gonna lose my heart
I never meant to wish on a falling star
But I won’t let it go

Denial take me away
Pretend like I’m not the queen of stretching the days
In all the wrong ways – til they break
Denial take me away
I crave your sweet mistakes but
Resistance is crucial, forgiveness is beautiful

The only way out is through
Not gonna lose my heart – I never meant to
The only way out is through

CREDITS

[music]
Written, produced and performed by Laura Kidd at The Launchpad, Bristol.
Drums by Max Saidi. Mixed by Dan Austin. 
Mastered by Chris McCormack at Blacklisted Mastering.

[artwork]
Portrait by @genskiart, logo and wordmark by Miritte Ben Yitzchak, concept and layout by Laura Kidd.

Thanks for visiting my website!

New to my musical world?

+ Get two free songs music immediately by joining my mailing list.

+ I send a thoughtful email every week – join The Correspondent’s Club on a free or paid tier to receive it.

+ New episodes of my music podcast “Attention Engineer” are released every Wednesday – visit this page to find out more and subscribe via your favourite podcast platform.

+ You can also follow me around the web, on YouTubeTwitterInstagram and Facebook.

Have a lovely day xo

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Correspondent’s Club 001 – 21/8/20

Correspondent’s Club 001 – 21/8/20

Letterbox Music News Perks TCC

The first edition of The Correspondent’s Club quarterly music and zine bundle, created in July 2020.

The only way to get access to future Correspondent’s Club releases is to become a member – browse member perks here.

Track listing:

1. Everything Looks Normal In The Sunshine
2. Happy To Be Sad (demo)
3. Out Of The Blue (demo)
4. Seventeen (demo)
5. The Only Way Out Is Through

Preview track: “Everything Looks Normal In The Sunshine”

Everything Looks Normal In The Sunshine (15/5/20)

Everything Looks Normal In The Sunshine (15/5/20)

Letterbox Releases Singles

Release date: 15th May 2020
Label: My Big Sister Recordings

GET THE SONG

+ Get all Penfriend singles PLUS unreleased track “Cancel Your Hopes” FREE when you join The Correspondent’s Club.
+ Download PWYW from Bandcamp.
+ Search for “Penfriend” on your music platform of choice.

Read more about how the song came into being here.

CREDITS

[music]
Written, produced and performed by Laura Kidd. 
Drums by Max Saidi. Mixed by Dan Austin. 
Mastered by Chris McCormack at Blacklisted Mastering.

[artwork]
Portrait by @genskiart, logo and wordmark by Miritte Ben Yitzchak, concept and layout by Laura Kidd.

ABOUT THE SONG

Debut Penfriend single “Everything Looks Normal In The Sunshine” was born as the horror of Coronavirus overtook the news. Shocked by the way life in her local neighbourhood seemed to carry on regardless – lawns were mowed, sparrows chirped and Laura’s dogs always need their walks – her heartfelt response was, naturally, a song. 

Written in a morning coffee break while her husband took a Skype work meeting in the next room, the song was recorded entirely in her home attic studio The Launch Pad, except for live drums which were beamed in remotely by Max Saidi. 

“Everything Looks Normal In The Sunshine” is a technicolour reflection of these unprecedented times, offering hope and solidarity amidst the fear, an explosive sugarbuzz pop banger that at once recalls the heady strut of Dream Wife and Dinosaur Pile Up whilst nodding quietly to Blue Album-era Weezer and Nirvana circa Nevermind. 

“Take heart there’ll be time to celebrate” Laura urges as her widescreen, powerhouse guitars enter the fray. Right now, hope is what we all really need.

LYRICS 

Keep calm, stay remote 
Write your troubles on a Post-It note 
School’s out, last orders at the bar 

I’m not pleased to see you 
Don’t stand so close to me 
There’s trouble in the supermarket 
But everything looks normal 

Take heart, there’ll be time to celebrate 
Don’t second guess humanity away 
Stand tall and we’ll all take the weight 
Cos everything looks normal in the sunshine, sunshine 

Lights out, kids up early 
Not ready for a life inside 
It’s gonna be a quiet night 
but everything looks normal… 

Wake up, don’t be stupid 
Your money won’t help you now 
It’s too late to get your friends and neighbours round 

Take heart, there’ll be time to celebrate 
Don’t second guess humanity away 
Stand tall and we’ll all take the weight 
Cos everything looks normal in the sunshine, sunshine, sunshine 

Take heart, there’ll be time to celebrate 
Don’t second guess humanity away 
Stand tall and we’ll all take the weight 
Cos everything looks normal, even though it’s terrifying 

Take heart, there’ll be time to celebrate 
Don’t wanna trust my future to fate 
So I’ll cut my own hair while I wait  
Cos everything looks normal in the sunshine, sunshine, sunshine

Thanks for visiting my website!

New to my musical world?

+ Get two free songs music immediately by joining my mailing list.

+ I send a thoughtful email every week – join The Correspondent’s Club on a free or paid tier to receive it.

+ New episodes of my music podcast “Attention Engineer” are released every Wednesday – visit this page to find out more and subscribe via your favourite podcast platform.

+ You can also follow me around the web, on YouTubeTwitterInstagram and Facebook.

Have a lovely day xo

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