My Lo Fi Heart is the solo project of Ian Turley, stalwart of the Sheffield indie music scene and previously mostly found at the back of stages, playing bass or synths or drums. He’s moved into the big light and his new single, ‘Hold My Breath’, is out on the 19th June 2020 via Sheffield based label Do It Thissen.
The A side: ‘Hold My Breath’
A heart-beat rhythm runs through this emotional, electro-ballad, echoing the lyrics “My heart only beats when I think of you”. Its simple, repeated layers build into something complex, pensive, haunting. It manages to be doom-laden yet positive all at the same time.
This single took me on a synth-sound journey. In my head, our protagonist has stormed off after an argument. He’s feeling despondent, frustrated. He’s getting progressively sadder and angrier as he walks along, the way you do when you leave the house in anger and spend ten minutes thinking how completely unfair whatever it was made you storm out in the first place was.
Then when all the stomp has gone out of him, the song deconstructs, as if he’s having a bit of a sit on a bench, for a think and a look at the sky, before making his way home. There’s a nice little “maybe it will all be ok” key and mood change at the end and we are left hoping that whoever he’s angsting about will have made him a nice cup of tea by the time he gets back.
The B side: ‘Assignment Lounge’
This could be a sickly, saccharine song about falling in love, but it isn’t. Its melodic lightness is balanced out by a rougher, grinding layer of beats that take the edge off the sweetness. It’s a wafty, languid, dreamy and slightly sad song that invokes thoughts of cotton sheet nights, being snuggled up with a lover, feeling safe in a sleepy love bubble.
The other B side: ‘I Want You’
Jolly, simple, sweet and short. Quite a clever song structure for a 13 yr old boy (which is how old Mr Turley was when he wrote it). Like many heartfelt offerings at that age, it was hidden away from his peers. Until now. A love song with some truly satisfying, squelchy, spinny synth sounds and ridiculously cute key changes. Made me smile for quite a long time, which is an achievement at the moment.
Review by H J Nicol
Limited edition three track lathe-cut 7″ single. Released 19th June 2020 via Do It Thissen records. Pre-orders have sold out but you can buy the single here from the 19th June.