Many of us can link a certain album to pivotal moments in our lives. Whether it’s the first record you bought with your own money, the chord you first learnt to play on guitar, the song that soundtracked your first kiss, the album that got you those awkward and painful pubescent years or the one that set off light bulbs in your brain and inspired you to take a big leap of faith into the unknown – music is often the catalyst for change in our lives and can even help shape who we become.
In this series, Music Feeds asks artists to reflect on their relationship with music and share with us stories about the effect music has had on their lives.
Brae Fisher, Dear Seattle – Kings Of Leon: ‘Aha Shake Shake Heartbreak’
Dear Aha Shake Heartbreak,
You are so incredibly raw and quirky. Entirely unique in your style, yet familiar to the ear in a way I can’t describe. You were the first record I listened to that really made me think, “I want to do that, and I reckon I can do that!”. You’re rough around the edges but your catchiness is unquestioned and infectious. This is a love letter to you for all of the joy you have brought me.
From the first time I heard your sweet ‘Taper Jean Girl’ I was hooked. My good friend Merrick Powell showed me this song on his bright orange iPod shuffle in the back of his mum’s car one afternoon after school, and I instantly fell in love with you. Despite thinking singer Caleb Followill was Rastafarian for way longer than I am happy to admit, I will never be quiet about my appreciation for you.
Kicking off with a jam as boppy and messy as ‘Slow Night So Long’ with a sultry outro that I will never forget, you had me hooked from the first track. Jumping straight into such a mature and unique track like ‘King Of The Rodeo’, I could already see the diversity and variety you would provide shaping up, and boy did you deliver! From upbeat rock jams such as ‘Taper Jean Girl’ and ‘Four Kicks’ to ear-worm slow jams like ‘Day Old Blues’ and ‘Milk’, you had my early adolescent ears pricked well and truly.
The first band I ever played in, with a bunch of friends from high school, began almost entirely because of you (with a sprinkle of Universes by Birds Of Tokyo), so in a way, my entire career as a musician can be dedicated to you for giving me the push to want to write my own music rather than continue learning Jack Johnson tabs in my bedroom, and for that I am forever grateful.
I don’t listen to you as much as I should, because every time I put you on you bring a smile across my face as I laugh at how the hell I am able to remember so many lyrics this many years on. Give my love to the family, Because Of The Times, Youth & Young Manhood, Only By The Night, Come Around Sundown and Mechanical Bull. I love them all dearly. Walls is too young for me to have gotten to know, but I am sure I will get to know them in time.
Forever and always,
Brae
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Dear Seattle’s debut album ‘DON’T LET GO’, is out February 15th. Head here to pre-order.
