In Focus: Katy J Pearson
Mercurial and mesmerising, Bristol’s rare songbird can’t be caged.
Photo: H. Hawkline
In a frenzied search for unfamiliar music in the monotonous doldrums of the 2020 lockdown, I fell under the bucolic charm of Bristol based singer-songwriter Katy J Pearson. Attempting to unearth present-day, euphonic refashions of the 1970s folk scene, I encountered the grail with her primordial singles: Tonight and Hey You.
Since then, she has become an essential root of the ever-germinating tree of British alternative artists. Finding burgeoning success globally, Pearson now has two studio albums and a myriad of impressive collaborations under her retro belt.
Pearson is the musical equivalent of all four seasons. She sings for the blooming sensibilities of spring, twangs with halcyon melodies of bygone summers, strums for the dulcet tones of Autumn, and serenades with the migratory beauty of a Winter nightingale. For fans of folk, synth-pop, Americana, country or indie-pop – miss Katy J Pearson at your peril, for this genre-warping storyteller deserves to be heard.
Laying teenage foundations as one half of sister-brother pop duo Ardyn, Katy and Rob Pearson came face to face with the harsh reality of the commercial music industry. After bagging a recording contract through Universal, they were flown out to L.A. for seemingly glamourous song-writing sessions. Upon the epiphanic realisation that their hunger for experimentalism didn’t fit into the unmalleable puzzle of corporate pop, it was curtains for Ardyn.
Aged 24, Pearson thankfully materialised again with a string of dynamic and sentimental solo singles, culminating with the triumphant Take Back The Radio. Re-aestheticising herself as a saccharine Western dream, her debut album (suitably entitled Return) was released in November 2020 under Heavenly Recordings and produced by Ali Chant (Yard Act). It’s a 10-song sirenic ode to the qualms and raptures of finding your feet.
“I’ve changed like the weather / I’ve changed for the better / I’m as light a feather / And as dark as a cave.”
(Return, Return – 2020)
Like Kate Bush at a barn dance, the album amalgamates a tender jangle-folk excellence that’s littered with unique vocal trills, and a balmy playfulness that will linger on the mind. The siblings never ceased to collaborate, as Rob lent a hand in co-writing and played guitar on several of the tracks. Shortly after its release, it was deservedly picked as BBC Radio 6’s ‘Album of the Day’ and she quickly gained traction at UK festivals and grassroots venues. I would recommend listening to the album in full; the track order pleasantly waxes and wanes with tranquillity and danceable buoyancies. Pearson has cited rural South Devon as an influence for her music and, as a proud Devonian myself, I can see the lyrical personifications of the intimacy of the countryside within the fissures of her nostalgic timbre.
Directed by comedian Joe Lycett, the music video for Miracle has the best (or only) nautical extraction of a cow from the cavernous depths of the Southwest coastline:
After the new prosperity of Return, Pearson was reluctant to cage herself within the country confinements that she was being labelled with. Her sophomore album, Sound of the Morning (2022), oozes with maturity and is satisfyingly eclectic. From the old-school acoustic folk of The Hour to the electronic earworms of Howl and Confession, there is sufficient diversity within the niches of the album to shake off any musical shackles. Co-produced by Ali Chant and Speedy Wunderground’s Dan Carey (Fontaines D.C.), it is full to the brim with collaborations from the likes of Black Midi’s Morgan Simpson and former Maccabees frontman Orlando Weeks. If you’re strapped for time, I implore you to listen to Float and Talk Over Town. Here’s Talk Over Town being performed on Later with Jools Holland:
At her live shows, Katy keeps good company. Playing alongside members of Black Country, New Road and Drug Store Romeos, she has formed a tight-knit creative community within the catacombs of a competitive industry. If I were to summarise her many recent musical achievements, it may very well wear the letters off my keyboard. However, I will mention some of the most notable. Banding together in 2021 with Metronomy for a reimagination of their song Love Factory, the alliance fashioned a tune straight out of a daydream. It’s catchy, spacey, and romantic – like watching the stars melt under a full moon.
Pearson joined indie-rock legends Pavement on their 2022 European tour and I was lucky enough to attend their Berlin show at the Tempodrom, where she victoriously harnessed the hopes of over 3,000 people. 2023 saw her support Yard Act in Australia before embarking on her very own US tour and completing a rigorous festival schedule over the summer.
Pearson’s version of Willow’s Song from the British cult-classic horror The Wicker Man (1973) has been a staple of her live set and is the haunting closer of Sound of the Morning. Upon its release, she was subsequently asked to re-imagine the film’s soundtrack for its 50th anniversary in 2023. Infested with eerie magnetism, it features an assortment of musical talent from the likes of H. Hawkline, Orbury Common, Wet Leg, and The Broadside Hacks. Saturated by psych-infested incantations and intimate textures, the EP adorned with a natural ambience that homages with an incandescent passion.
Additionally, you can find Pearson singing on Yard Act’s newest album Where’s My Utopia? (2024). She adds her coveted charm to the hit pedalling quartet’s single, When the Laughter Stops.
Pearson recently announced on her Instagram that she will be taking a short hiatus while she concentrates “on something rather important”. A third album wouldn’t go amiss. I’ve certainly got my fingers crossed. Do yourself a favour and immerse yourself in her songbird splendour, it’ll make you pine for all the summers you’ve never known.
Here’s to what Katy lends her hand to next. We’ll be waiting.