Russell Thomas – Fireflies (2021)
Many people lock a part of themselves away when they suffer a traumatic experience. Russell Thomas is tapping into this and considering what happens when you reach a point where you want to unlock these emotions in ‘Fireflies’. Touching on some heavy emotions, he looks at setting free the feelings that you keep bottled up. All the proceeds from this single are being donated to the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to prevention child sexual abuse.
Thomas’ passion for music was ignited watching his mother sing in clubs across Blackpool. This led to him playing the guitar and singing at 16 before busking across New Zealand and Australia at 20. After teaching himself to play the drums, he started writing his own music combining the styles and subjects of the world.
‘Fireflies’ has you floating on a river of glinting tones from the first moment. There is a wonderfully dreamy feeling to the music that makes you think about warm summer nights when the fireflies come out. The movement is very intimate as it closes around you creating this wonderful pocket of space for you to relax in. The instrumentation layers over you as you rest on the grass of the lower levels and just makes you feel happy.
Thomas’ vocals add to the dreamy feeling of the music with a slightly hazy edge. His voice dances across your senses like mist. There is a lo-fi feeling to his performance that enhances the intimacy of the melody. The humming backing vocal lines are a wonderful addition before his falsetto hits you. The rise of his vocals draws your spirit with it and has you feeling light inside. While the lyrics touch on trauma, there is something bright and easy about his performance that makes you think everything will be okay.
Russell Thomas has you relaxing into his sound while layers of vocals and instrumentation wash over you in ‘Fireflies’. While the lyrics delicately touch on traumatic experiences, there is a sense of hope and light woven into his performance. The melody is a dreamy river of sound that you can relax and float along as your mind drifts on the vocals.
Find out more about Russell Thomas on his website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
