Smooth grooves on offer in debut EP, Nightfall
Nightfall is a journey through stories of love, relationship and desire. We find ourselves immersed in super chilled, late night vibes with Claire Littley’s unique vocals.
Imagine it’s after dark and your feeling mellow but missing your lover—or maybe even your ex.
You’re feeling that what you need right now is a music martini: One part George Michael, one part Lisa Stansfield, one part Sade. And that would be the new EP from singer-songwriter Claire Littley, Nightfall.
From the atmospheric and sensual opener “Quietly,” with its subtle sonic touches, to “Couldn’t Walk Away” with its upfront dance beat and soaring vocals, Nightfall proves to be an enjoyable sonic journey through the sounds, sensations, and yearnings of a night in love. The passion, the push-pull dynamic, and the inevitable absences and longing. Littley writes and sings from experience.
Littley says, “My aim was to immerse the listener in the kind of ambience and tension you feel when you’re waiting for your lover… late in the darkness at night, craving to be close to them, to feel their touch. It’s about all of your senses coming alive and the abandonment you can only feel with someone you trust completely.”
But the songs also examine the darkness of a toxic entanglement.
“Those crazy passionate relationships that are, of course, wrong, generally with a woman who is completely emotionally unavailable, drives you insane and fizzles out as quickly as it started. Everyone should have a relationship like this, if only to learn what you don’t want to ever repeat… ha!”
In any case, it’s lovely to hear Little sing to a woman as the object of her affection. “I’m clearly referencing women in the songs,” Littley shared with Queer Forty. “Not intentional, just how the songs evolved. Sometime’s I think this can be more powerful for someone to discover than being ‘in their face’ about it.”
The EP continues with “Night Was Falling,” a sweeter love song with a constant and mellow beat; “Ah, this is all about the beautiful magic of falling in love, feeling like you’re under a spell, not being able to sleep, wanting to be with your person all day long, through the night into the daylight. You’ve got it bad,” says Littley.
“Step Into The Night” is a confident closer with a bewitching mix of brass, keys, and vibrato.
“Falling in love again… sigh… those first moments when you know you want to be with someone, that electricity when your hand brushes theirs… As I was writing this I was imagining walking into the darkness of the night, just the two of you under the stars,” says the British musician who did all the mixing and mastering herself. Littley is supported on drums by veteran UK musician Gail James.
Listen to Nightfall here.
