Multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Jack Francis begins 2024 with tense new single ‘Lifeline’ out now, taken from his upcoming album Early Retirement due for release 22nd March.
Having already provided snippets of new music with previous singles ‘Mercy’ and ‘Under The Bright Lights’, Southampton-based musician Jack Francis continues on the path towards his sophomore album’s release in March with new track ‘Lifeline’, bringing a vintage touch in its folk-rock flourishes yet sounding remarkably fresh. Opening with a disarming guitar chord, the lyrics pick apart a flawed relationship with a quiet fury and a steady pace. Nevertheless, the titular lifeline is still being searched for, looking ahead to the future – what else is there to do?
Jack Francis: ‘This single is about the end of something long-term. Something you’re so deep in that you’ve lost yourself. You’re angry and you know the only way back is to pull yourself out of it, pick up the pieces and start to rebuild.’
‘Lifeline’ marks Jack Francis’s first release of 2024, preceding his new record Early Retirement (out 22nd March), which explores a broad range of influences, touching on areas of great British, Irish and American songwriting. The lyrical content demonstrates the writer’s acerbic wit and attention to detail, compounding his experience navigating modern society and fallen dreams. On production duties once again is Archie Sylvester (of folk duo Ferris & Sylvester), making the entirety of the record at their home studio. Providing a wide-open window into his psyche, the musician tackles tough yet common subjects in the current climate with no filter, as he blurs the lines between folk, rock, soul and country.
Jack Francis: ‘Early Retirement is a record about endings and new beginnings. It’s about riding out fallen dreams and trying to navigate modern society as an old soul in a new world. It comes from a very personal place as a writer and conveys my concerns, doubts, sense of humour and stubborn determination to build a life in the field I’ve dedicated myself to.
‘This was a concept album from the very start – it was a conscious choice to make this a singular, coherent piece of work that would stand the test of time in both the aspect of the songwriting and the messages I’m trying to communicate.’
CATCH JACK FRANCIS LIVE (SUPPORTING FERRIS & SYLVESTER):
February
9th – Tunbridge Wells Forum
10th – The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth
14th – The New Adelphi Club, Hull
15th – The Fulford Arms, York
16th – Independent, Sunderland
17th – Portland Arms, Cambridge
20th – The Parish, Huddersfield
21st – The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham
22nd – Komedia, Brighton
23rd – Thekla, Bristol
27th – Camp & Furnace, Liverpool
28th – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
29th – Deaf Institute, Manchester
March
1st – Lafayette, London
6th – The Horn, St Albans
7th – The Booking Hall, Dover
8th – Bar Silo, Golant, Cornwall
9th – The Cornish Bank, Falmouth
11th – King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow
12th – The Mash House, Edinburgh
13th – The Grand Social, Dublin
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