- 2025-03-04
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MUSIC
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Bradley Simpson Releases Debut Solo Album “The Panic Years”
British pop band The Vamps' vocalist and singer-songwriter, Bradley Simpson released his debut solo album “The Panic Years” on February 28, 2025.
The album comprises 12 songs, produced by Bradley Simpson and BOOTS.
The album incorporates touches of indie-rock, Americana, '80s synth, and psychedelia, recounting his personal experiences of life, love, lust, and learning, like a diaristic collection.
Bradley Simpson said of the album, “Started in LA early on in the writing process for the album with Anthony and Andrew. As the melody for the chorus came together, we built around that. It was exactly how I wanted to move forward with the sound of the album, and it opened the writing process for me. It became the catalyst for that sound as it went on a bit of a journey. I met BOOTS a few months after, and we decided to do the entire album together.”- He continued, “I hope these songs and stories can help them navigate those experiences. They can become the soundtrack to their lives, whether they're dancing, crying, going out or whatever it is. It really feels like an opportunity to let them into a side of my life that I haven't shared before.”
Bradley Simpson shared on social media, “I can't believe we're here already, I am so proud of this album, it has been two years of my life and now these songs are yours. Thank you to everyone who helped it was a real team effort, and to all of you who have supported over the past year I love you, thank you.” -
Bradley Simpson explained about some tracks for the album.
“Cry At The Moon”
“'Cry At The Moon' started in LA early on in the writing process for the album with Anthony and Andrew. I knew I wanted to draw on influences I grew up on, and we spent the first two hours of the session listening through bands we loved, lots of Queens of the Stone Age and Raconteurs. As the melody for the chorus came together, we built around that. It was exactly how I wanted to move forward with the sound of the album, and it opened the writing process for me. It became the catalyst for that sound as it went on a bit of a journey.”
“Picasso” via Digital Journal
“'Picasso' is about one of those toxic loves that you know is bad for you, but there's something wonderful about it that keeps you coming back. You always hope that things will turn out for the best, so you keep giving it a chance when perhaps in hindsight, you should have stopped sooner. You also find people who can find those difficulties as part of the romance. The song allowed me to shake off those experiences and move past them.
That song came about later in the writing process for the album. Ina [Wroldsen] was in town, and we wrote it together. I had been a massive fan of hers for a long time. Ina writes such incredible music; her lyrics are superb, and she is a great melody maker. I jumped on that opportunity immediately.
'Picasso' was the first song that we wrote together. Ina has such a beautiful talent for melodies and lyrics, and she comes out with these poetic lines. It's a storytelling song, and while the message of it is heartbreak, it is not a sad song. I want this to be someone's song to help get them through heartbreak and the more difficult times. I hope the fans turn it up real loud.
From then on, I tried to keep my team as small as possible. When I met Ina, I knew that I absolutely wanted to write more songs with her. She has become a really good friend; she is just great and amazing.”
“Carpet Burn”
“'Carpet Burn' was the first song I wrote when I got to New York to write the album and it always felt really special. It's a song about wanting more time with someone special to you, and it came around really quickly. I wrote it in my hotel room in about half an hour and took it into the studio the next day. The main bulk of the finished song was done on that first day. I've been playing it at shows for the past few months and hearing the fans singing the words back without the song even being released has blown my mind so I'm excited for them to have the song!
It's about falling in love. Which I think is sometimes hard to write about, but it's about doing it in the right way. It's written from a perspective of falling in love, of wanting to have more time, wishing you met someone at a certain point in your life and you're having the best time, [of] 'I feel like we could have had such a great time had we met earlier'. But I'm a big believer in [meeting] at the right time. I also think it's applicable to like so many things, friendships, family members, so hopefully it's one of those songs that can live beyond what it was written about.”
“Daisies”
“Daisies is a song I wrote at home before finishing it off in New York and I wanted to write something upbeat and with pace that overall was just feel good. The song itself is about those first feelings of falling in love and wanting something to not necessarily be just casual anymore. It's also been one of my favourite songs to play live.
'Daisies' is essentially [about] the feeling of looking for your person, and that process of trial and error, but done in a very upbeat, almost light-hearted way. The main takeaway from the song is, “I'll be here if you need me.”
“Holy Grail”
“Holy Grail is a song about realising that going through ups and downs with someone you love makes it worth it. I spoke about that with my friend Ina, who is an incredible songwriter, and then wrote it around an electric guitar before I recorded anything. Later, BOOTS and I tracked live drums, and I wrote the outro in the studio. It was one of the harder ones on the album to finish because it felt quite delicate and anything we added really needed to earn its place in the production.”
“Always Like This”
“It was written and recorded in Paris. It has a distorted musicality and conveys a frenetic feeling, which I felt lyrically fit where I was going, which was the feeling of not knowing when or if you're going to get out of a dark place. It's also one of my new favorite songs to play live.
I wrote it in Paris. I love it very much. It's about wondering where or what a person that you don't speak to anymore is doing now.”
“The Panic Years”
“I don't think I've been panicking the entire time, necessarily. But one thing I learned through the writing process was, this is also not a bad thing! Your 'panic years' are where you have the most fun and you grow off the back of them. Honestly, I still feel like I'm in my panic years.” - source : Apple Music
