Yet another addition to the collective of fantastic music releasing this week, Yorkshire-based artist Laura Kindelan released single ‘Hazel Frustration’ this Friday. Her second single in as many months, she’s certainly leaving listeners wondering if this is only the second chapter leading into something more significant on the horizon. Kindelan first jumped onto the UK radar with debut single ‘The Other Side‘, a similarly gorgeous track featuring soft acoustic vocals and instrumentation that gradually expands over its run-time. With ‘Hazel Frustration’, she’s doubling down on this mood with songwriting that is even more intimate and engaging.
A hazy blend of folk and jazz that perfectly fits the mood of a melancholy fall day, Kindelan’s voice seamlessly interweaves through the rising and falling sonic intensity of ‘Hazel Frustation’. Her ability to switch up her cadence at a moments’ notice will have listeners reminiscing about early 2000’s Amy Winehouse. With soft yet rapid drum patters that gradually become more and more prevalent as the song progresses, Kindelan’s vocals reflect this instrumentation with booming, echoing harmonies.
Narratively, ‘Hazel Frustration’ touches on the lack of communication or clarity that Kindelan is experiencing from the person with ‘hazel eyes’, stating that she sees ‘loneliness, and something I cannot quite describe.’ A common detriment to young relationships, she becomes ‘impatient’ at not understanding why this person won’t open up to her. Kindelan’s confusion progressively turns into outright frustration and angst over the course of the song, as she’s left ruminating over a relationship that cannot be.
For a 3-minute track, there’s so much to unpack both sonically and lyrically. A track that Laura clearly created with her heart on her sleeve, it leaves listeners wondering where ‘Hazel Frustration’ fits in the context of Kindelan’s growth both personally and artistically. With an astoundingly high vocal soprano that is soothing in nature, don’t be shocked to see her name continue to show up in the underground UK scene.
We also had the opportunity to speak with Laura about the new single, as well as her feelings on the re-debut into music this year.
Hello Kindelan, how’s it going? Hello! Very well thanks. Today is release day, so it has felt weirdly like Christmas – I’ve had that very specific feeling of anticipation that you wake up with.
How have you found your first year as Kindelan to be? I’ve been working towards this change for the past couple of years, and it’s something I only wanted to do when myself and the music were ready.
I officially shortened my name to Kindelan in September and it has been really exciting ever since – two singles out, an upcoming headliner and a lot more that’s stored up and ready to be released.
The change has also felt liberating. Like the music I’ve been writing and producing over the past few years, the name ‘Kindelan’ is firmly linked to who I am, while its ambiguity offers myself and my music room to grow and stretch out over the years to come.
What made you decide to choose ‘The Other Side’ as your debut single? I felt like The Other Side was the right re-introduction as Kindelan; the song opens with a verse of guitar and vocal, which is a sound I’ve always had, before suddenly opening up into a new sonic landscape from the pre-chorus onwards.
I’m also super excited for what else is to come and this track felt like the right foundation block before the next songs come out.
For anyone who hasn’t heard the song, ‘The Other Side’ was written during lockdown, exploring my personal experience with the idiom ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’, and my impression that humans, including myself, often wish for what they don’t have, but rarely make the move to reach this ‘greener’ place.
You’re just about to follow it up with new single ‘Hazel Frustration’ – What can you tell us about it? I adore this song! It feels so ‘me’ and was a real turning point in my writing and at home production. It also pinpointed the sound myself and co-producer Ed Allen aimed for within my upcoming EP.
This song is one of the most intimate that I’ve written. It’s about the simmering tension of a complicated and delicate pre-relationship, where two people can’t seem to land in the same place at the same time.
It was assembled over a long period of time, documenting how my relationship with a significant person pushed and pulled.
One of my favourite lyrics in the song is found in the pre-chorus – “‘want it, take it’ is outdated, jaded. It’s flawed at its core, cause what’s mine isn’t yours”.
It’s stating that taking whatever you want, when you want it, doesn’t work with human beings. Just because you’re now ready for something, doesn’t mean the other person is, even if they have been prior; It’s such a delicate balance.
‘What’s mine isn’t yours’ is such a simple thing to say, but potentially heartbreaking if what you truly want belongs to someone else.
The song’s chorus aims to capture the disorientating feeling of not knowing where you stand with someone, the constant back and forth, feeling the lack of them in your life and ‘absence over [your] skin’, and having a (often unspoken) shared goal, but the journey to get there feels impossible.
Could we expect to hear more music from you before the end of the year? I’m headlining Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds on Sunday the 20th of November where I’ll be sharing my next single and some of the songs from my upcoming project.
Other than that, you can expect new sounds in January 🙂
Finally, what is your favourite fruit? Good question. Ahh there are so many to choose from. I was going to say something fancy like a kiwi or raspberries, but if I could only eat one type of fruit for the rest of my life, I think I’d go for a proper crunchy red apple.