After recently announcing the details behind her eagerly-awaited new studio album ‘Light Sleeper’ alongside the standout single “Release Myself”, now featuring on the BBC 6Music B-List, Brighton-based artist Bess Atwell continues the support for her next LP with the tranquil new single “Fan Favourite”.
Exploring more of that rich and dreamlike aesthetic she has become synonymous with in recent years, “Fan Favourite” makes for a beautifully sweet and emotive listen throughout. With its deeply moving narrative exploring finality within life and love, she serenades us with this captivating ode to shared experiences and our strong connections to them.
Speaking about “Fan Favourite”, she said, I wrote Fan Favourite after watching some behind the scenes footage from a popular TV show. Not even a die-hard fan of the show myself – I can’t remember what it was now – I found myself emotional watching the cast’s wrap party. I felt jealous of the sense of community and opportunity to reflect on shared experiences and history. I pictured my own family’s “wrap party” and what that would look like. The sadness, humour, disappointment and joy that would come with acknowledging the huge shared experience weve had in this life. The song also touches on the passing of time, a sense of dissociation, and feeling as though you’ve missed out on life despite still living it.
Fan Favourite is an attempt at a self-wake-up call so I wanted the production to sparkle, breathe and feel alive, the instrumentation a reminder that life is indeed still there to be lived.
Produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner (Taylor Swift, Ben Howard, Sharon Van Etten, Ed Sheeran), ‘Light Sleeper’ looks to continue the warm and effervescent aesthetic Bess Atwell has been cultivating for herself in recent years. Featuring the previously shared tracks ‘Sylvester’, ‘Release Myself’ and ‘The Weeping’, her newest offering sees her grow not only as a songwriter, but as one of this country’s more revered artists.
Speaking about Light Sleeper, she said, Light Sleeper is about the willingness to feel. While writing the album, I was realising that somewhere along the line I had become very afraid of feeling. The record is about facing this realisation and finding the bravery to challenge it. It’s still hard for me to believe that I got to make this record with one of my heroes, but somehow, I got that lucky. Aaron Dessner posted about one of my songs on Instagram at the beginning of 2022. We got chatting on there and before I knew it, we’d made plans to meet up at All Points East and were discussing making a record together. He told me that Light Sleeper is the first album he’s worked on in several years that he didn’t write, which is a huge honour. My approach on Light Sleeper was to give up concern with what’s cool and to reconnect with why I make the things I make. I was afraid to really sing on my previous record, having come to believe it wasn’t cool or would draw attention to the fact that I am indeed an emotional woman and therefore not to be taken as seriously. This time, I wanted to really sing, I wanted to discuss my fears and feelings, I wanted to connect, and I wanted to perform like I meant it, because I do. After all, how can I write an album about the willingness to feel and be too afraid to sing like I mean it?
Fresh from supporting Ed Sheeran at the Royal Albert Hall, Atwell will play a series of intimate live shows in June including a sold-out London’s Union Chapel, Bristol’s Thekla, and Manchester’s converted cinema venue Band On The Wall. These intimate surroundings should prove the ideal match for these exposing, quietly fearless songs of self-exploration. These shows will be followed by support slots with The National in June & July and a newly announced UK headline tour in support of the album release, including a run of dates in October and London’s KOKO in February ’25. Full list of live dates below.
Bess Atwell live dates:
06 June | Manchester, UK | Band On The Wall
07 June | London, UK | Union Chapel SOLD OUT
08 June | Bristol, UK | Thekla
25 June | Vienna, AT | Stadthalle w/ The National
27 June | Bonn, DE | Kunstirasen w/ The National
11 July | Edinburgh, UK | Edinburgh Castles w/ The National
02 October | Norwich, UK | Arts Centre
03 October | Cambridge, UK | Junction 2
04 October | Nottingham, UK | Rescue Rooms
05 October | Leeds, UK | Belgrave Music Hall
06 October | Newcastle, UK | The Cluny
08 October | Glasgow, UK | St. Lukes
09 October | Liverpool, UK | Leaf
11 October | Belfast, UK | The Black Box
12 October | Dublin, IRE | The Grand Social
15 October | Cardiff, UK | Clwb Ifor Bach
16 October | Birmingham, UK | Hare & Hounds
17 October | Oxford, UK | The Bullingdon
18 October | Brighton, UK | Concorde 2
22 February 2025 | London, UK | KOKO
Bess Atwell in-store dates:
24 May | Brighton | Resident
25 May | Oxford | Truck
26 May | Bristol | Rough Trade
27 May | Nottingham | Rough Trade
28 May | Leeds | Jumbo
29 May | Liverpool | Rough Trade
23 May | London | Rough Trade East
Light Sleeper Tracklist:
1. Everyone Whos Not In Love With You Is Wrong
2. Release Myself
3. Sylvester
4. Fan Favourite
5. The Weeping
6. Something Now
7. Spinning Sun
8. I Am Awake
9. Crowds
10. Light Sleeper