Bess Atwell Shares New Single ‘Co-op’

Emerging British singer and songwriter Bess Atwell has just shared her brand new single Co-op, her debut single on her new home at Lucy Rose’s Real Kind Records.

Co-op sees her channel more of the same smooth and enticing direction she has shown on her previous offerings. I am really enjoying her lush vocal delivery and how her songwriting sounds quite effortless, instantly drawing the listener to her storytelling. The way Bess weaves stories reminds me a bit of Lana Del Rey and the song's folk-tinged production with luscious ripples of guitar and steady percussion create quite a warm atmosphere perfect for a relaxing day at home.

Speaking about the song, Bess Atwell said,

Flipping between past and present tense, I think of this song the same way I think of a memory that keeps interrupting the current moment. It’s a snapshot of a time of refuge and routine.

It's an illustration of mine and my partner’s life together. The relationship seemed to provide me with some sort of permission to recuperate from family trauma, as if realising for the first time that there was a life outside of that chaos lulled me into an emotional slumber. Through the song I grapple with the desire for, and fear of, comfort. I used references to Virginia Woolf’s ‘Mrs Dalloway’ to depict a vivid nostalgia and an affinity for trivialities that serve to calm when darker thoughts set it.

Co-op is also accompanied by a wonderful new self-directed video that takes inspiration from the song’s lyrics without being too crass and predictable with their meaning. Check it out below!

 

Adding about the video, Bess said,

The music video, directed by me and shot by my good friend George Ogilvie, directly references one of the lyrics ("half your furniture we found on the street outside"). I didn't want to be too on-the-nose by shooting the video in a supermarket, but I also didn't want to shy away from that bold imagery, so I came up with the concept of shopping for memories / home comforts. The video attempts to marry two worlds at odds with each other - the mundane and the emotional - by contrasting the props, outfit, and setting.

I associate the song with the boldness of the colour red and that was important to me to capture within this, occasionally whimsical, video. Co-op started out as a bit of a private joke, so I wanted the video to have a self-awareness and sense of humour to it too. I think there can be a tendency, when you're shooting a music video yourself, to try too hard to make it look professional. Instead, I wanted to lean into the fun of making it with a friend. It felt reminiscent of our childhoods, when we would make up plays or dances and perform them to anyone who would watch.