British singer-songwriter Lucy Kitchen drops her new album, In The Low Light, via her label Bohemia Rose Records. An album that reflects deep loss and isolation, In The Low Light is Kitchen's most personal project to date. Kitchen projects a sense of timeless magic to her music as her musical style manages to bridge a gap between modern folk and vintage Americana.
With the personal loss Kitchen suffered back in 2022, the origin of the album begins there. Losing her partner, Kitchen put pen to paper to etch out her thoughts in only the way she knows how.
“A lot of it was written in the run-up to and aftermath of my husband Stephen’s death from cancer,” explains Lucy. “Some of these songs began as tiny poems I started writing as a way of capturing thoughts and feelings with no intention or pressure to turn them into songs… but over time some of them found their melody.”
“For me, making this album was actually an incredibly life-affirming, quite joyful experience. I’m interested in exploring the idea of rebirth through creativity – coming back to ourselves through our art and making something beautiful out of something hard.”
"Winter King," the album's opening track, eases listeners into the project with care. Broken down to its core, the haunting track yearns for someone, or something, once lost. Kitchen uses powerful imagery to get the point across. The song is damning as it leans into "Into My Corner." Both songs play off each other well, with the longing setting the stage for heartbreak.
"Winter King" and "Into My Corner" fall more in line with the state of folk music. It's great, but very limited in what it can accomplish socially. For a more grounded and traditional folk spin, Kitchen showcases that on "The Boatman." The track is full of passion and life while still maintaining the status quo with folk. With the album mainly centered around grief, Kitchen delivers the point truthfully.
In The Low Light does a wonderful job of showcasing Lucy Kitchen's vulnerable side in a Nirvana stripped-down way with "The Ways We Were" and "Chemo Song." Both songs are hushed and vocally sung over just the bare necessities and pain. "It felt like we were shut off in our own little world, like something out of a fairy tale. It was like everything was paused and we were just waiting for Spring,” Lucy explains about the track.
Throughout In The Low Light, Kitchen is gripping with the thought of moving forward in a world she no longer recognizes. The tragic passing of her husband has not only sharpened her senses but also her craft as well. Once the pain is done and the healing can be seen blooming through on tracks like "September's Come." At first glance, the album is full of isolation and heartbreak. "Sunny Days" breaks that cycle and gives listeners a chance to get out of their own heads and look towards the act of renewal.
Grief just doesn't refer to one person healing. Co-produced by Tali Trow, Kitchen looks for fellow artists to help illustrate her message.
“Making this album rebuilt me more than anything else,” says Lucy. “From the moment we started recording, I just felt this pure excitement to be creating something new with these amazing musicians. I think when you're recording, you embody the music, and everything else falls away, so for me it just felt like magic. I felt like it brought me back to myself and what I love to do.”
“I can't wait for everyone to hear the album,” she concludes. “We all lose things throughout our lives through death, endings, leavings, and I hope people find their own stories within these songs and connect with the idea that we can make beautiful things out of these events, and still move forward with our dreams.”
With Into The Low Light out, Lucy Kitchen looks to finish up the tour she's currently on. You can catch her at any of these sites:
Connect with Lucy Kitchen: Instagram // Bandcamp
