Here at #W21Towers we've always had a soft spot for Brooke Eden. At C2C 2016 our pre festival research on her debut EP had highlighted her as one to watch and she did not disappoint. During an interview backstage at the Indigo she impressed mightily with both her attitude and work ethic spending as much time with us as she might have done with Rolling Stone magazine, always courteous and impressively focused and dedicated to her art and her career.
Her "Welcome To The Weekend" EP cemented her high ratio of quality releases, and it is therefore great to see her kick off 2021 with her first release for 4 years, and needless to say it is well worth the wait.
It is the first of a batch of new material that will surely establish her once again at the top of everyone's watch lists.
"No Shade" takes a batch of weather related imagery and cleverly applies it to her personal situation. It could easily be something that could be part of a songwriting exercise however this feels like it was constructed from the heart and was much more personal than just slotting in a set of pre-prepared phrases.
From the very first line, there is an emergence back into the light with Brooke quick to let us know what has been happening
"Hello Sunshine good to see you again - had to walk out to let you back in
Stuck in a storm of a relationship"
The chorus reinforces that feeling of freedom rediscovered
"There ain't no shade around here ...."Nobody going to steal my sunshine or turn my blue sky grey".
With a second verse reflecting back on time passed
"Instead of catching these rays I was catching your lies
Should have listened to my friends should have known they were right"
Brooke is able to take positives "Now i'm looking at love in a whole new light .... so far gone so past it"
Musically it is an amiable shuffle that builds and builds into a party atmosphere, you can almost hear Brooke emerging from the shade as the track develops, until towards the end she really lets rip with her vocals to announce her return.