Indie pop singer-songwriter James Hersey has made a triumphant return, delivering heartfelt lyrics and infectious melodies in his highly-anticipated album, Let It Shine. Recorded in Los Angeles with producer Jeoff Harris (K Flay, Royal & The Serpent), “Let It Shine” offers nuanced lyrical themes paired with meticulously hand-crafted neo-vintage pop productions. It's just the right amount of fun, with a serious musician at the heart of it all.
Across the album's 10 tracks, James consistently incorporates live drums, infusing each song with vibrant energy. The album kicks off with the electrifying "Ghost Me", featuring captivating guitar riffs that demand our attention. Standout tracks like "Right Where I Am", "Fake Love" and "Cut Me Out" boast infectious hook melodies that are tailor-made for a live concert experience. Meanwhile, the title track, "Let It Shine," brims with emotion in both its songwriting and chord progressions, radiating a heartwarming sense of uplift.
Blurring the lines between pop and rock, this album serves as a versatile collection of tracks suitable for various settings – whether you're cruising in your car, cooking in the kitchen, or dancing the night away at a live performance.
James talks on the album, “My intention behind this album was to create a timeless body of work that tells brutally honest stories from my life. Stylistically I wanted to create a fusion of modern and traditional songwriting and production. It explores painful and positive personal experiences of the past years, centred around the song (and album title) “Let It Shine” – my mantra of perseverance in the face of inner and outer adversity. Musically I want the album to stand out from my previous, more cerebral work, as an energetic and physically compelling album that wants to be seen and experienced as much as heard. It’s written to be performed with my band without the need for computers on stage – to showcase the depth and power of live musicianship, as well as stand against the flood of purely digital music being produced nowadays. Most of the album was recorded in a traditional studio setting – big rooms, loud instruments, and fully analog signal chains that were then mixed and summed digitally to extract the best of both worlds. Three songs were built directly from their original writing demos to preserve their spontaneous nature."
