- 2024-10-06
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MUSIC
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Orla Gartland Releases New Album “Everybody Needs A Hero”
Irish singer-songwriter Orla Gartland released her sophomore album “Everybody Needs A Hero” on October 4, 2024 via her own label New Friends.
This marks her first album in three years since the 2021 debut album “Woman on the Internet”.
The album comprises a 12-track, featuring a guest appearance from British singer-songwriter Declan McKenna, produced by Orla Gartland, Peter Miles and Tom Stafford.
Orla Gartland said of the album, “This is a record about navigating the currents of a long-term relationship; some tracks are sweet & vulnerable, others bratty & defiant. I contain multitudes! (and so does this album).”
She continued, “These songs are all about a relationship, celebrating & holding space for all the many ways you can feel about the same person. one feeling does not cancel the others out - we are far more nuanced than that ! we contain multitudes. This record will forever be a time capsule for me & a body of work I am very proud of.”- Orla Gartland shared on social media, “I'm feeling ready to let these songs go, spread their little song wings & hopefully soundtrack some moments in your lives.”
She continued, “I've been asked in a couple interviews lately about how the hero theme came up. this record is all about one relationship and whilst writing /observing my own ways of moving through the world I became obsessed with what I call 'the feminine urge to do it all'; something I see in myself & a lot of women in my life. an unexplainable quest to thrive in all areas at once; I should be smashing my career, be a great partner, show up for my friends, be simultaneously + effortlessly hot/cool/fun/healthy !!!! etc etc etcccc. (being the oldest daughter no doubt exaggerates this feeling in me too lol)” -
Orla Gartland explained about some tracks for the album.
“Little Chaos”
“I think a lot about how to move through the world alongside a partner and for a long time I wanted to show up in relationships as easy-going and palatable, never taking up too much space – now I can't think of anything worse.
I can be loud, funny, clumsy, loyal, intelligent, annoying, caring, angry; this song is about showing up as all of it, all at once. I think dropping the act and showing your true self feels like the most vulnerable thing you can do.”
“The Hit”
“'The Hit' is about how closeness leads to feeling deep empathy for another in a relationship, and how dangerous and consuming that can be.
[It's ]like a voodoo doll thing… you're so connected it hurts. It's a nice gesture, because you're admitting you care about that person so much that when they're in pain you feel it too, but there's a point that it can go too far and that's just not healthy or sustainable.”
“Late to the Party” featuring Declan McKenna
“'Late To The Party' is a big old bratty song about resenting the baggage that you inherit when you love someone and yearning for a time when we were all a blank slate. I wanted a song on the record that shifted in pace a lot, something fun and loud, something indulgent. I first wrote 'Late To The Party' over a couple of solo sittings in my studio, mumbling out the lyrics while playing drums.
For me he is one of the absolute greats, a properly timeless artist & writer. We worked on the song remotely at first, sending stems back & forth and then jumped in the studio for a day to dismantle the song & put it all back together. Dec's parts & energy added so much to the track for me and after months of revisiting it 'Late To The Party' was suddenly complete.”
“Kiss Ur Face Forever”
“This song is about being in love and split down the middle by it – on one side excited and energised, the other side cynical and withheld. I really love the erratic guitars and the urgency of the drums in this track – hearing the intro literally gets my heart rate up.
I wrote “Kiss Ur Face Forever” with Tom Stafford and my best friend Lauren Aquilina. Lauren and I live together and have been friends for 10+ years, since we were both tiny baby popstars. We had never written together up until this point – I'm such a fan of Lauren's songwriting that I'd always been too nervous to ask - but it finally happened and unsurprisingly it was so fun and felt almost effortless to write with someone who knows me so well.”
“Mine”
“'Mine' is by far the most vulnerable song I've written to date – putting it feels a little scary but also hugely important to me. It tells a fragmented story of an experience that really affected my relationship with intimacy and how that stayed with me throughout relationships that followed.
I wanted to give the lyrics on this song space to breathe so we kept the production super minimal on this track; live vocal & guitar and a super beautiful, haunting four-piece string part. This was my first time recording real strings on a song of mine and for me they bring even more emotional depth to the track. I'm really proud of this song and whilst I hope in a way that no one relates to it, I hope it can bring comfort and hope to anyone who does.”
“Everybody Needs A Hero”
“I like becoming a character on stage, an amped up version of myself. so on first glance I liked the cockiness of the album title, as if I'm like 'I'M HERE TO SAVE YOU ALL WITH MY MUSIC, BITCHES'. but as you'll hear soon the title track is actually the records most humble moment, it's like 'everybody needs a hero - even me. especially me! I need you.'” - source : Apple Music
