Music

17 Music Music 17 Why ‘You Signed Up For This’ is the Perfect Ode to Love and Heartbreak

by Louise Collins

This year, one of my closest friends recommended Maisie Peters to me, and now, I have her debut solo album on repeat.

Maisie Peters released ‘You Signed Up For This’ on 27th August, the day I happened to be on an eight-hour long car journey, meaning I could truly listen to this album. I could rewind different parts, and soak up the lyrics – and of course send a few excited messages to my friend along the way. So, what is it that is so incredible? We’ve had ‘breakup albums’ before, right? Of course we have. But they never seem to go out of style, especially when they’re full of Peters’ wonderful lyricism.

This ‘breakup album’ isn’t simply one-dimensional. Many of the songs are about heartbreak, but there’s so much more. Love, whether romantic, platonic, or familial, plays a huge role in this album. Alongside discussing the pain of a breakup, Peters sings about how the people you care about become such an intrinsic part of who you are - ‘they talk ‘bout the news, I just talk about you.’ (Talking to Strangers)

Some of Peters’ songs are about taking accountability for your own shitty behaviour. With so many ‘breakup albums’ today, many artists either write whole albums glorifying their own toxic behaviours, or go fully down the victimhood path. Peters is so powerful because she does both. She sings about when she’s been mistreated in past relationships - ‘I’m finished ‘cause I’ve learnt / loving him hurts’ (Love Him I Don’t) - and the inherent misogyny that comes with a lot of breakups - ‘you’ve got a girl, but you still call me psycho’ (Psycho).

Yet Peters also sings about when she’s been wrong. ‘Elvis Song’ is about leaving a good relationship, and knowing you only have yourself to blame - ‘I’ve got no right to miss you / All I did was kiss and fly’. ‘Villain’ has Peters hold her hands up and admit that sometimes you mess up and hurt people when you’re hurting - ‘Now I’m drunk and I’m mean outside your house’.

‘You Signed Up For This’ has some incredibly soft songs you can cry to - whether out of sadness, relatability, or wholesomeness - but it also allows you to sing at the top of your lungs with your closest friends. You can comfort each other about your exes, and celebrate your friendship in one album. It’s the perfect ode to love and heartbreak.

Remembering Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts

By elizabeth woor

The Rolling Stones need no introduction. One of the greatest bands of all time, they transformed the music scene with their gritty, uncompromising rock music. It is therefore no surprise that when the death of their much beloved drummer Charlie Watts was announced late this August, tributes poured in to celebrate his musical legacy.

Watts was one of the more understated players within the Rolling Stones, but this certainly doesn’t mean that his integral role in creating the band’s rebellious sound should be downplayed. Oh no, Charlie Watts’ drumming kept the beat to some of the most iconic songs of all time. Pete Townshend, lead guitarist of The Who, described in his tribute to Watts that he had never ‘enjoyed playing with a drummer quite so much’ and that his style could only be described as, in true rock and roll fashion, ‘super-cool’.

In his personal life, Watts was a lover of clothes, horses, jazz, cars (despite him ironically not being able to drive) and Agatha Christie, owning a signed copy of every paperback she had ever written. He refused to be confined to the crazy Rock n Roll image many associate with the Rolling Stones. In fact, he was a lover of home comforts and maybe surprisingly, quiet.

He found peace in the countryside where he lived, away from the madness of tours. In fact, he even once commented that despite loving his job and getting to play music to thousands of fans, he’d ‘love to go home every night’. His attitude was refreshing – he made no attempt to hide his dislike for certain aspects of being in a band like the Rolling Stones. Many would agree that his no-nonsense attitude only adds to the ‘super-cool’ memory many keep of him.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

An Interview with Rising Star Eliza Delf

By Tom manning

A student at UEA and a local to the Norfolk area, Eliza Delf has been showcasing her talent as a singer-songwriter this year. After a successful kickstarter, she has begun working on her debut album, Into the Wilderness. While an in-person interview couldn’t be arranged, one of the bonuses of our video call meant that I was able to meet Eliza’s new puppy.

Singing has been a passion for Eliza ever since childhood as she explains, ‘I suppose it’s a bit cliché but I’ve always loved singing. When I was little, I used to always make up songs which were very bad and then when I got to about sixteen, the transition started into taking it a bit more seriously. This was prompted by some coursework in high school I really enjoyed. I think I just enjoyed the process of writing and then turning it into a song. It’s very satisfying when it comes together, now it’s just something I love to do.’

In the lead up to Eliza’s upcoming debut album Into the Wilderness, she has released four demo singles on her website that provide a glimpse into the sound and themes of her forthcoming debut. ‘I think that the demos on there are quite representative of the whole album, so it’s a good snapshot. I think a big idea in the album… is about how to come to terms with how you’re feeling inside. So, the wilderness inside is part of what the songs are about, uncertainty, anxiety, and then through the songs I explore those ideas through natural imagery in the wilderness outside.

‘There’s a lot of references to the landscape around me and folk-art imagery to explore this idea of beginning to accept when you’re not feeling very well and how to come to terms with that. I guess it is a bit of a metaphor with the natural imagery but in some ways, it was the reality of when I wasn’t feeling very well…the outside was really important.’

In terms of the album itself, I asked Eliza what we could expect. With a laugh, Eliza said to ‘expect the unexpected. There are some songs in there that may take you by surprise, there are some that are more intense, orchestral songs with a lot of instrumentation and then there are some more pared back stuff so more like a couple of instruments and a voice. I very much wanted

Working on Eliza’s debut is the multiinstrumentalist and folk producer, Jon Loomes. ‘I feel very lucky to have come across someone like him. He’s a multi-instrumentalist, producer, recorder, he’s got a lovely studio in Yorkshire in his basement which is perfect for recording. He’s also a singer so maybe we’ll get him on it…some backing male vocals! He’s incredibly talented but he also brings a level of experience which obviously as I’m 19 I don’t have that. There’s some very practical things with an album as well as the musical side and he really helps to bring that knowledge.’

Earlier this year, Eliza played at the Young Norfolk Arts Festival here in Norwich. While due to Covid restrictions she couldn’t perform in front of an audience, the performance was recorded and can be seen on Eliza’s website. ‘It was a great experience. Obviously, it was a little bit weird as there was no audience. There was just the guy who was recording who was lovely and my dad and my brother who came along but that was it! It was a slightly strange introduction to the Norwich Arts Centre but it was very fun to perform the songs as acoustic versions which is very different to how they are on the album.

‘That’s bringing them back to how I wrote them

though as I wrote them with just a piano and my voice so it’s quite nice to bring it back to that. Also, to really listen to them. I’ve sung them so much so to really listen to the melodies and lyrics is quite fun.’

Alongside collaborating with Jon Loomes, for the album’s artwork, Eliza has joined forces with the Norwich based, highly renowned, artist Will Teather. The cover artwork is a beautiful portrait of Eliza falling through the canvas creating a truly theatrical feel to it.

Speaking on the collaboration, Eliza said, ‘he’s an internationally renowned artist, it was crazy that he agreed to do it. He doesn’t do a lot of commissions and he listened to a few songs and agreed to do it which was very flattering! I felt very lucky again. I think it’s something to do with the way he paints, we’ve known of him for a long time as an artist and he crops up a lot in Norwich. I think that series he does of people falling really captured the feeling of the album, slightly magical realist I guess.

‘My lyrics are heavily inspired by Angela Carter, who’s an incredible writer she wrote the Bloody Chamber and she’s very magic realist too…She was also a previous teacher at UEA! I think his paintings felt like they were a part of that same feeling I think. There’s something I wanted to capture in the lyrics

In order to help start her career and create the platform she now has, Eliza ran a successful Kickstarter campaign earlier this year and mentioned how the Bright spark scholarship from UEA helped to fund her musical journey. ‘‘Before I was writing the album I applied to it [Bright Sparks scholarship]…and around that time I was thinking of doing an album and when I got it, it was a big boost. Making an album is expensive and not easy to self fund. The bright sparks money was really perfect timing.’

To keep up to date with the latest from Eliza, including information about her upcoming album, a newsletter is available to sign up to on her website