Four in the Morning have released their new single ‘Keep It Together’.Led by Irish singer-songwriter Kevin Dolan and surrounded by an eclectic group of genre defying musicians – Kiran Srinivasan, Dan Walwyn and Alex Lees – Four in the Morning write sad songs for insomniacs. As Kevin Dolan puts it: “I’ve always been bad at sleeping and I find late at night a great time to write. Whether it’s a dream or a song, there’s something beautiful in the subconscious taking all the stuff from a day and making sense of it. I guess that’s what these songs try to do.”. After multiple delays and with only a week before a government grant ran out, ‘Keep It Together’ was produced, recorded and mixed by Jono Steer (Angie McMahon, Ainslie Wills, Leif Vollebekk, Julia Wallace) at The Perch Recording Studio in Castlemaine in rural Australia.

Immersed in cinematic soundscapes, ‘Keep It Together’ is a moving, atmospheric tune from Four in the Morning. The band swirl ethereal synths through a fluctuant heartbeat -esque rhythm while an icy piano chimes innocently throughout. Dolan’s vocals whisper, almost unable to express the tender lyrics out loud, as he admits “I’m a little lost,“ over driving rhythms and a building backdrop of distorted murmurs on guitars. He fixates on repairing a broken record player “I took it apart just to see what makes you sing. There was nothing but the wires and the space between” to distract himself from the sense of isolation due to the pandemic. The emotive lyrics evoke a sense of loneliness within the song, however the band contrast this with glimmers of hope as the song builds to an uplifting crescendo. ‘Keep It Together’ is a joy to listen to and a fine example of Four in the Morning’s compelling musicianship. 

Stream ‘Keep It Together’ below 

Author: Danu