Katy J Pearson Someday, Now (Coke Bottle Green)

"May the wind be always at your back" chants Katy J Pearson in the opening seconds of her third solo record. Indicative of a shift in heart and sound, it fires the starting pistol for an album on which Pearson is exercising her own autonomy in life, in love, and in the recording studio. Following 2020's Return and 2022's Sound of the Morning, on Someday, Now Pearson's signature acoustic-led, sweetly-voiced singer-songwriter fare is transmuted through the desk of electronic producer Nathan Jenkins, aka Bullion (Carly Rae Jepsen, Ben Howard, Nilüfer Yanya). It showcases her natural knack for a hook, presenting ten glistening tracks which are pop by nature, rather than design or demand. "I've found my way back to myself", she summarizes. Where her previous records were made with a slower, more piecemeal approach, Someday, Now was rigorously written and rehearsed and then laid down over a couple weeks at Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire. The band is composed of Heavenly label-mates Huw Evans and Davey Newington, along with fellow Broadside Hacks collaborator Joel Burton.