Taken from forthcoming album due later this year
“Indie folk royalty Newton Faulkner returns with the effortlessly glistening ‘I Can Pretend’” – Clout Magazine
British songwriting powerhouse Newton Faulkner is poised to announce a brand new release with the arrival of ‘I Can Pretend’ on 17th April, lifted from his forthcoming album due later this year, this sparkling indie-folk jam follows on from the previous double A-side single ‘Together / Sinking Sand’, continuing Newton’s effortlessly glistening sonic approach that is the perfect respite for us all right now.
Newton says: “I loved every second of making I Can Pretend. I got to play everything, which is always fun. I hope you can hear how much fun I had playing drums on this one and I got to do a proper guitar solo! Best studio day ever. In essence, it’s an old school indie track about having a friend, then realising you want to sleep with them.”
Newton Faulkner has never released the same album twice. Continually adjusting to a music landscape dominated by flux, he’s moved from the phenomenal success of his double platinum selling debut album ‘Hand Built By Robots’ to the surging triumph of ‘Write It On Your Skin’; from ‘Studio Zoo’ – written, recorded, and released in five weeks – to the sumptuous ‘Human Love’. This meteoric rise witnessed Newton selling over 1.5 million records with over 180M streams.
New tracks ‘I Can Pretend’, ‘Sinking Sand’ and ‘Together’ spearhead his new project – a full album, split into three chapters, which will be released over the period of 12 months. It’s a daring move, one that embraces the fluidity of digital music, while also presenting some of Newton Faulkner’s most challenging material yet. “There’s no guarantees at any point. I don’t take anything for granted,” he asserts. “We’ve got a plan. Which can obviously change at any point. But we’ve got an ending and a beginning and a middle.”
Working from his home studio in East London, Newton broke down these ideas, using them as the building blocks for his new album. Twisting ideas inside out, he pushed himself further and further and further. “I’m not very precious any more,” he remarks. “The music is a bit chunkier, it’s definitely way heavier and much less acoustic than previously. I feel like the stuff I’ve written recently is simpler, but it’s tasteful… it works as songs. I can feel it.”
Just as the shifting sounds on the new album document a shadow evolution in his musical tastes. “It’s grizzly, soulful, and a step further,” he says of his new material. “Vocally, I’ve learned a huge amount over the years. I was a guitarist and a writer who sang. That’s kind of where I came from. And now I feel like my voice has caught up with the stuff I was doing on guitar.”
Set to be released across the course of 2020, the new album is Newton Faulkner at his most daring, and also his most familiar. He’s embraced shifts in the way music is forged and released, but only to get closer to the figure fans truly love. “I don’t think things get better or worse. They just change,” he remarks. “I’ve kind of purposefully steered away from any of the cliques that have appeared around me. I’ve just remained this weird, solitary figure. I love it!”
https://www.newtonfaulkner.com/