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Music

This New Light conjures up gentle folk magic on ‘you, all along’ EP

Indie folk project This New Light explores ruminations with beautifully crafted soundscapes, evolving with each track.

Sunshine Coast artist Samuel Ayling embraced a moniker, This New Light, as he departed from previous projects to write and perform solo.

Already a seasoned songwriter and performer in the Queensland scene, Ayling honed his experience to pen thoughtfully considered folk, with grand melodies to hold his listeners. And hold them he does.

This New Light

As the sun rises, so do our ideas and realisations. It’s these early morning epiphanies that This New Light explores on sophomore EP, you, all along.

Opener Awakening places Ayling’s crystal clear tenor at the forefront, backed by soothing acoustics and atmospheric drumming.

“Like a phoenix from the ashes, we will rise”, the artist recalls as the strings swell and give way to a warm brass solo. It’s a powerful use of instrumentation that takes The New Light’s folk soundscape to new heights.

103 rests on a descending acoustic chord pattern, with a lulling strum constant. Ayling also stacks multiple vocals on the melody, an engaging technique reminiscent of early Bon Iver and newer folk heavyweights such as Clairo.

Surround Me improves upon this arrangement style, quipping hand claps, dreamy piano, and a metronome to create a forward sense of momentum for the listener.

Meanwhile, the title track strips everything back for a vulnerable moment, carried by a single acoustic and Ayling’s poetry.

Finally, End of the line brings back the band for a final crescendo, to navigate through a universal feeling of “leaving something, someone, somewhere, and moving onto new things, however scary that may be”.

Instead of maintaining a consistent thematic thread for his sophomore EP, Samuel Ayling gives every track individual attention.

The songs say what they have to say, breathe where they need to, and ultimately provide the listener with an organic glimpse into Ayling’s creativity. This is an EP for the weary-eyed, offering the wonderous gift of hope in solitude.

Listen to you, all along below: