Photo credit: Conor Blades
Based in Dublin, Still Blue’s sound has resonated with tastemakers across the industry, tipped by radio, press and Spotify editorials as a hot talent emerging from Ireland. They’ve opened for the likes of The Academic, Sorcha Richardson and Milk., and performed at multiple Irish festivals growing a flourishing presence as they do so.
Still Blue’s latest single is a dive into the beauty of the indie-folk heart. ‘Brushstrokes’ is deeply heart-wrenching the rhythmic drum lines, swelling strings and subtle but momentous guitars all come together to lift a veil over picturesque poignance.
Harmonies rise and fall, and the vocals get ever more passionate and thoughtful, before charging into a climax of soaring layers, refined to ethereality as a wash of accompaniment sends the lead line to the stratosphere. The peaks are effortless and the reserved moments are pained, but it’s all bewitching.
Nicole Lyons, the band’s elegant frontwoman, explains the single “It was one of those songs that just flowed. I wasn’t really sure what I was writing about until I let the song rest and came back to it a few months later. I wasn’t ready to accept what I was writing. I think a lot of times in relationships we want to ignore that ugly side and only choose to see the good. But that’s not love. ‘Brushstrokes’ is a track about seeing a relationship for what it is and not what you want it to be.
We were lucky to record the track in Black Mountain Studios with Alex Borwick. It felt fitting to record ‘Brushstrokes’ there in the peace and quiet. Alex really helped bring the song to life in the studio. We were also buzzing to have Kait Cullen-Verhauz back playing cello on one of our songs too. It always feels special working with such talented musicians and having the space to try out random ideas. In the end, most of those silly ‘what if we did this?’ moments end up in the track anyway and they’re what makes this song feel as close and warm as it does.”
Listen to ‘Brushstrokes’ here!
