Heartbreak

‘Healthy Mind’ released by Emily Howard

17th Jul 2023 — 1 Comment

An outstretched hand on the journey through grief.

Emily Howard, a talented musician, recently released , “Healthy Mind,” featured on her album titled “Good Grief.” This emotionally charged track delves deep into the complexities of navigating grief, offering listeners a raw glimpse into tragedy. With a delicate balance of humor, hope, and moments of profound despair, Howard’s hauntingly beautiful composition strikes a chord with our innermost emotions.

Emily Howard Healthy Mind.

Simplistic and stripped back this song is all the more effective with it’s acoustic sound and complex lyrics. By embracing vulnerability and finding resilience Howard has created an intricate insight into loss and hope. Her honestly and humour demonstrate her humanity in the face of adversity. This song also serves as a reminder that sometimes, putting yourself first does not equate to selfishness in actuality it equates to survival. Despite such a strong emotion, Howard demonstrates there is sometimes peace in a storm with her effortlessly empowering Jazz influenced vocals.

After losing her boyfriend in a motorbike accident when she was 17 , her album Good Grief offers an honest and insightful, outstretched hand on others who have also been pushed onto this unfortunate journey. Grief encompasses the sorrow and pain that follows a major unexpected change in our lives whether it be divorce, losing a job or the sudden loss of a loved one. It is an experience that transcends language and affects each individual uniquely. Numbness settles in, a spectre of who you once were this should of silence and eruption of inner turmoil, our once known world now an alien planet. As time passes, emotions surge, fluctuating between anger, sadness, and profound longing for what once was. Grief is an uninvited companion that walks beside us, reminding us of the depth of our love and the irreplaceable void left behind. It is a process of learning to navigate life without the physical presence of the one we mourn, while still cherishing the memories and the impact they had on our lives. It is an uninvited teacher, demonstrating the fragility of existence and the resilience of the human spirit. Through grief, we learn to honour and remember, to find solace in the bittersweet beauty of the past, and to forge a renewed sense of purpose in the wake of loss.

Good Grief Album by Emily Howard

It is not just the incident that impacts us, it is not just them who we mourn but also the loss of the It is in the future we had envisioned too. Full of promises, shared moments, cherished memories, and hope, seemingly fade away like a distant mirage. However, within the depths of grief, we can also discover a profound sense of resilience and the capacity to find solace in treasured memories. It is through embracing these memories and honoring the legacy of those we have lost that we can ultimately begin to heal and find a renewed sense of purpose.

Time may not heal all wounds, but it has the power to bring comfort and grant us the strength to carry on. The experiences we hold close to our hearts continue to shape us, leaving an indelible mark on our souls. Memories intertwine with our thoughts, etching their presence in our minds. We carry them with us, forever tethered to the stories that unfolded. Healing is an ongoing journey, with its ebbs and flows. Even as wounds fade, the occasional ache serves as a gentle reminder of what once was. Yet, amidst the darkness, there is always a glimmer of hope, much like the moon shining through the night sky. Grief can also bring gratitude, enriching each experience we did share with who is gone, allowing us to appreciate each moment more and experiencing it for the both of you, choosing to honour their memory by embracing life, cherishing the lessons learned, and forging ahead with resilience, we go on knowing that by doing so they continue to live within us.

Saturn Stars, recently released by The Boy In The Rose Garden is a testament to resilience.

22nd May 2023 — Leave a comment

Why make someone your whole universe when you’re not even a star in their galaxy?

The Boy In The Rose Garden

You’ve fallen in love with a person that feels like a party. The lights just seem to find them, they know every word to the songs on a stranger’s playlist, each beat they move expertly to. The drinks are sweet and your surrounded by friends, time is moving too quickly on the night you don’t want to end but then they’re still at it yet it’s 6 am you wonder when you’ll be home again, your glass is empty and your ears are numb, but their eyes are searching for you, so you continue to move, smile stuck to your face.

You dance, you drink, you stay for them because leaving arm in arm is better than leaving alone. You feel as though you’re in love with a ghost but being haunted is better than being abandoned. Your world is built for them whilst you’re barley a yard of tarmac in theirs, but that doesn’t matter because at least you are there and when their eyes find yours you exist and, in that moment, you know you are everything. You spend your time finding ways to find that fire, you want to burn for them.

In their song Saturn Stars artist The Boy In The Rose Garden explores similar semantics, falling for the person that dropped you, hoping they’ll be the one to catch you. You are only the person of their dreams because you only matter to them when they’re asleep.

Boy in the rose garden

The ethereal vocals entrance you just as the previous lovers once had, you’re death to the eery undertone, a sinister nod to your foreboding future, a sound that places you in a disorientating mist, the confusion of what is is to be in love with someone who seemingly once felt the same for your but now sees you as thick dust on the fireplace, noticed just before a guest comes over.

Their words whip into you, but you’re just happy to bleed for them, to show them you truly love them, to show your devotion as they turn their back on your bones, you’ve learned to feel at home with the sense of being alone. Let go? Would you let go of all that you have When all you have to your name is a stone it becomes a jewel, a throne. You’re home a haunted house full of whispers of who used to roam the halls, figments of what once was but can never be again, the bare body of what could have been, where you throw your keys and lay your head. You had nothing, they provided you with a rag, you use it to wash my skin, bandage your wounds to cover your frail frame as you lay to rest. Holding out your empty hands and your full heart you declare, “this is all I have, and it is my kingdom, if it costs me my life it will have been worth it”.

The Boy In The Rose Garden

If you were a candle, you would set yourself alight to aid their journey to bed in the dead of night. If there were no food in the fridge you would volunteer your soul to keep them fed until Sunday. If all their clothes were to rip you would peel off your skin to keep them. Loving them is the passion that comes with knowing you would give yourself up for them to go on, for who are you to take from the living?

You are the whisper to their crowded room. A crease in their new shoe. You’re being held close, but your being used as a shield protecting them from themselves, what weapons id you bring to a war you did not know you would be fighting? Every bullet they shoot at you reflects how they view themselves, and you willingly make yourself a larger target, convinced you can take it if they promise to love you. That’s all you ask, love me you cry as they feast of your flesh, love me you beg as they wash their hands with your tears, love me you weep as they use your body as a punching bag, at least when they touch you, you are worthy.

Self produced, Saturn Stars ,in itself, is a testament to resilience, an audible lighthouse when you’re in the depths of the dark sea, just because you’re drowning does not mean you should grab onto the first thing that feels solid, a rock will just drag you down deeper, find your lifeboat.

With antoher song coming out in june 2023 promises to be a successful year for The Boy In The Rose Garden. Stay up to date with their releases by follwing them on social media.

(If your situation sounds like this there is help out there. Please reach out. You are not alone.)

Rising Star, Ellur releases latest single, Anywhere.

17th May 2023 — Leave a comment

“A sublime, swooning vocal you can almost wallow in” The Line Of Best Fit

Ellur captured by Nick Porter 2023

Most break ups feel like a battle, one person fighting to leave the other fighting for love, scenarios are directed and dreams are discarded, you can’t win when you’re broken hearted. Sometimes though it’s more about debating, a silken hand on the train platform as the carriage chugs away. Both deflated, there’s a lack of hatred just a mutual understanding that sometimes to leave it to love. Similar semantics are showcased in Ellur’s latest single Anywhere, an optimistic take on heartbreak, perfect for your summer playlist with it’s insight into the intricacy of relationships and upbeat feeling.

Ellur explained: “‘Anywhere’ is a song written for your ex (the one that you’re not over). Set on a summer night, at dusk, after a day of drinking in a park somewhere with your friends. Your skin is warm, your head is dizzy and your recent ex is walking towards you. A song about a feeling I think everybody has felt. The building tension between you both; your past relationship and all the feelings still bubbling away in the melting pot.”

The internal conflict commences on the sight of their face, part of you still wants to be the shadow to their silhouette and the clothes they’re wearing but the other knows there’s a reason it’s over , so you remain cool shrugging off the pst, preparing for their approach head held high, unbothered smile spread on your face, but then you lock eyes and you’re sat there thinking about the nights you’d spend together talking about future days and you realise you would still go “anywhere” with them.

Anywhere by Ellur on Spotify

“Please don’t look at me that way tonight

I’d go anywhere, anywhere you’d go

I wanna be anywhere and everywhere you go“

Co-written with Circa Waves’ Kieran Shudall and produced by Rich Turvey (Abbie Ozard, Bloxx, Pixey), ‘Anywhere’ marks the latest addition to Ellur’s expanding showcase of diary type feel, danceable guitar anthems.

The cascading instrumentals of this song lead to a crescendo of anguish and reflection, depicting the familiar feelignof wanting what you once had but knowing it would not be all you picture it to be. Full of forgiveness and a second chance at happiness you will be singing this song loud in your bedroom, beads of both optimism and sadness forming in your eyes as you wish that one person would listen and you could go back to wearing their clothes and holding them close. A refreshing take on heartbreak that fans of Haim, Cocteau Twins and Boygenius are sure to love.

Moments by Ellur on Spotify.

Her success with previous track such as the captivating Migraine and energetic, fan favourite, Moments it’s clear that Ellur is more than one to watch, she’s one to know as her ethereal vocals offer an emboldened edge to the lyrics to create an atmosphere a listener will embrace, submerging themselves in the narrative and dancing through whatever they’re feeling. Whether you’ve got the Summer blues, or a smile on your face Ellur has the music for you.

With her infectious charm, quick wit and relatable lyrics it’s no surprise that Ellur has already received accolades from from key tastemakers (Dork, The Line of Best Fit), and several spins on BBC Radio 1 (Jack Saunders) and airplay on Radio X (John Kennedy). Her empowering narratives are already drawing plenty of fanfare, with a slew of releases on the way throughout the rest of 2023, and a list of upcoming live events including 26th May – O2 Academy, Leicester (w/ The Big Moon), 27th May – Live At Leeds In The Park and 1st July – Halifax Piece Hall (w/ Embrace).