So, it is with real excitement that I listened to Wallis\u2019s new release \u2018What\u2019s Wrong With Changing?\u2019, a song that will act as a gateway to her seventh album \u2018Hands\u2019 which will be released on 27th<\/sup> May 2022. The song is described as a track that hones a deep mindfulness toward racism and learning to shed prejudices, a track that will urge us away from the perception of other and towards one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wallis describes the track thus:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe song is about the milestones of my life: living in London, getting to know other cultures as a young person, to Ireland breaking free from State and Church and voting in gay marriage in such a stark Catholic Country. In my short life there have been huge changes and social structures have been dissolved and I have said over and over: what is wrong with changing, there is nothing in this world that is not changing, so I think let\u2019s move with the change.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Whilst the song is very forward thinking and topical in a world that moves towards a place where we are more tuned in to change, more tuned in to chipping away at the prejudices that exist in a bid to create a better place, it is musically inspired more retrospectively by the rhythms of Janet Jackson during her \u2018Control\u2019, \u2018Rhythm Nation\u2019 and \u2018Janet\u2019 days. The single is a hint at what will come with the new album which promises to be both joyous and curious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Change is not a linear thing and each step towards change has to be step by step, chipping away at the structure of things that exist and Wallis is very keen that she, as an artist, tries to act as one of the steps, with her unapologetic and shamelessly unafraid musicality. The song is almost a sequel to her song \u2018As The River Flows\u2019 from 2019\u2019s \u2018Woman\u2019 which celebrated migration and sought to \u201cstand in awe and solidarity with migrants and fight racism in people and political agendas\u201d, as Wallis told Songwriting Magazine at the time. With this new release, Wallis develops that thought process in an effort to \u201cthink more and understand others a little more; not to \u2018other\u2019 each other but to create the idea that we are all one\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new release also gives us the B-side, \u2018Pretty Lies\u2019, which brilliantly encapsulates the emotions we have felt during the pandemic. Wallis says: \u201cit documents the silence and the beauty of hearing the birds for miles and miles at the beginning of the lockdown when there was no traffic and nobody was leaving their house. It moves from that into when things began reopening a little more. TRhis quiet, uneasy safety at the start develops into a spiral of unending possibilities. The end of this song expresses all of the possibilities of where we\u2019re going from here\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two songs are perfectly linked by their story telling qualities with \u2018What\u2019s Wrong With Changing?\u2019 acting almost as a social diary whilst \u2018Pretty Lies\u2019 is more about natural and emotional change with both moving very much to the now. As a pairing they perfectly illustrate the diversity of Wallis as an artist musically whilst brilliantly showcasing her almost poetic narration of society and emotion which pervades all of her music. If you\u2019ve never heard Wallis before this release is a great place to start; if you\u2019re already a fan then you will not be disappointed, indeed you\u2019ll be excited to hear the album in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The album will be called \u2018Hands\u2019 and subtitled \u2018Nine and a half songs for nine and a half fingers\u2019. A reference to a childhood accident that left her with a damaged left hand. It will be an album that confronts themes of trust, alcohol abuse, stagnation, self-censorship and self-improvement. An album for the times delivered by an artist with a voice blessed with joy, curiosity and empathy. I can\u2019t wait!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wallis Bird’s new release \u2018What\u2019s Wrong With Changing?\u2019, is a song that will act as a gateway to her seventh album \u2018Hands\u2019 which will be released on 27th May 2022.<\/p>\n