Harriet - For Someone Else

Stream For Someone Else here (Mixcloud)
Stream Harriet's music here (Soundcloud)
Read my thoughts on a year of Harriet's glorious music releases here

I fear that one day what I write about the supremely talented Harriet will become redundant - not because the power and appeal of her music fades, but rather because I run out of ways to express how her beautiful songs impact so very much on my life. There's something almost magical and otherworldly about the way her singularly nuanced voice can conjure up memories and emotions long forgotten, or soothe those that are still in the process of healing. Her songs can be the passion that sends your spirit soaring with optimism and hope as well as the music that acts as the perfect antidote to an aching heart. As she preps her upcoming EP and forthcoming album, her producer Steve Anderson previewed those projects with an exclusive track on Larry Flick's always glorious Feel The Spin radio show. For Someone Else is the perfect introduction to Harriet if you are new to her music - or validation for fans that this is going to be one special album that transcends trends and stands the very test of time. It's a song about how people come into our lives and how (although we don't know it at the time) they will only be there for a short time before we have to let them go. It's not acrimonious or hurtful, it's just accepting the fact that both people involve belong to, well, someone else. Harriet sings this with an earnest sincerity, her voice imbued with a genuine goodwill that life will be better because of this decision. When she sings (in the second verse) "I knew in my heart I'd say that it's over now" and taps into the lower register of her voice, it's a delivery that's so beautifully impassioned and intricate that it speaks more about the nature of love than a hundred harlequin romance novels ever could. She sidesteps the often meretricious nature of pop by pouring her soul into making the narrative resonant with honesty and experience. She's ably accompanied by a shuffling beat, cooing backing vocalists and a score that ever so gently buffets the blow she's delivering - indeed the swell of music that takes her into the chorus feels like it is giving her the power to go through with her decision, making it that much more emphatic and final. Yet as noted there's no malice and it becomes the sweetest goodbye that one could wish for. If all relationships that have to end ended like this the world would be a happier place. As it is, my world is enriched by the continued contribution of the wonderful singer.

Top 25 songs of the week:

25 ~ Taylor Swift, Style (NE)
24 ~ Olly Murs, Season (NE)
23 ~ Magnus Carlsson, Meet Me Downtown (NE)
22 ~ Walk The Moon, Shut Up and Dance
21 ~ McBusted, Get Over It
20 ~ Auryn, Last Song
19 ~ One Direction, Night Changes
18 ~ Gravitonas, Castles In The Air
17 ~ Ola, This Could Be Paradise
16 ~ Eric Saade, Sting
15 ~ Danny Saucedo, All You Need Is A Spark
14 ~ Walk The Moon, Avalanche
13 ~ Take That, Let In The Sun
12 ~ Madonna, Living For Love
11 ~ Maroon 5, Sugar
10 ~ Giorgio Moroder ft Kylie Minogue, Right Here Right Now
09 ~ Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars, Uptown Funk
08 ~ Erasure, Sacred
07 ~ Taylor Swift, Blank Space
06 ~ GRL, Lighthouse
05 ~ Kelly Clarkson, Heartbeat Song
04 ~ Olly Murs ft Demi Lovato, Up
03 ~ Bleachers, Like A River Runs
02 ~ The Overtones, Something Good
01 ~ Satin Circus, Crossroads (2 weeks)