Let’s be honest, we do love Laura Aston here at Rock the Joint Magazine. We had a great time talking to her recently (link to the feature at the end of this review) and so when she releases a new single, and is ready for a UK tour in June, we are ready to pay attention!
This dreamy romantic number, while Laura is “tipsy on whisky,” is a powerful vocal performance that takes all of us who love to that moment with a partner that we, due to life, can become distant from. It is a superbly crafted country ballad, with just that bit of sway that you can hold your partner close to. I’m sure it will be a part of her up and coming live set, and you can download it here.
We were able to have a few words with Laura about the single and the upcoming tour,
How important is the second part of that title Laura? Do you see this as a number to get the people on their feet in the June tour?
Needle on vinyl is a country ballad, but it talks about making more time for those you love. Life responsibilities tend to take up alot of my time and it’s not until I actually put myself in the moment I realise how much I miss by being caught up with something else. The song was written about a random Saturday evening I had free. My partner also had the evening free and our daughter was sleeping out so we opened a few beers, blasted the alexa and danced around the kitchen, laughing and acting like teenagers again, which due to work commitments and parenting etc we hadn’t done in so long. So to answer your question it would be lovely to see people having a slow dance to needle on vinyl!
When we last spoke “Nothing Else Matters” had just come out. Do you see “Needle on Vinyl” as a close relative to that song, or a more distant stranger?
Yes you’re right! Nothing else matters regardless of anything happening in your life as long as you’re with your person, you’re happy! However, needle on vinyl is about not making enough time for your person. I met my partner when I was just a young girl and the “Nothing else Matters” track stemmed from our younger years, where life was more carefree and our only responsibility was our homework and maybe a few chores around the house for our parents, where as “Needle as Vinyl” is written about our adult life together.
We spoke to another band recently and they said they were more interested in releasing singles than an album nowadays due to how people have changed listening habits. They felt singles kept things fresh and immediate, albums took too long and were not listened to as a whole package as people used to. Do you agree with that position? Or are you looking toward a full album at some point?
I’ve always worked on the basis of releasing single after single because I do quite agree not many people listen to a body of work anymore, but because I haven’t released a full original album yet, I want to test the waters with it and maybe I’ll be one of the lucky ones where my body of work will get listened to, you never know unless you try. So I’ve been releasing singles this year (teaser singles) to give an insight as to what my album will be like.
And have you the live set in place now? Will you be looking to mix the set between towns, or are things fairly agreed upon now?
Me and the band do have a set list locked in however we have learnt and played a catalogue of songs so that depending on where we play we can entertain the audience to the best of our ability so we have previously mixed it up, changed it around and added new and replaced the old.
The tour link link is here. Note that Laura is supported by Robyn Red in Glasgow, we did a feature on Robyn last year, and I’ve put that link at the end of the review.
25th June – Birmingham
15th October- Liverpool
10th December Birmingham
By Lorraine Foley
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