Captivating a dedicated fanbase on TikTok with his series of mesmerizing bedroom covers, rising star NOEL has been collaborating with seasoned songwriters and producers, channelling his innate knack for lyricism and enigmatic vocal disposition into his own discography. Now, the Stockholm-born artist unveils “Headed North”, a vulnerable and introspective collection of glittering indie-pop tracks that serve as a celebration of strong production, song writing, and engaging nuance.
From the opening notes of “Hurt Somebody”, NOEL showcases visceral lyricism infused with angst-ridden energy, a tone further emphasized by the chaotic and visually arresting music video accompanying the track. This energy carries through to the effervescent title track, “Headed North”, and the deeply personal final track, “Ruth”, marking this project as a triumphant journey, delicately navigating themes of grief and indie-pop anthems throughout the EP’s runtime.
NOEL describes the personal importance ascribed to “Headed North”, explaining, “This EP will always be special to me as it is my first and in many ways my introduction into music and song writing. I started writing songs together with others a little over two years ago, without any real concept or deeper thought behind it. Eventually I found that the songs over time started to find their place and became a coming-of-age story that I’m excited to finally share.”
Pre-save the project via the link here.
NOEL, goes on to explain the process of making the video, commenting, “Making the music video for ‘Hurt Somebody’ was one of the craziest experiences I’ve ever had. The entire set was built from the ground up and was crafted with a lot of love. It involved hours of finding and thrifting everything you see in the interior, and sooo many hours of painting it all red. In the end it was kind of bittersweet breaking some of the stuff that I had grown attached to.
‘The room is a metaphor for a relationship that you try to nurture and care for but small things from your past build up and haunt it. You dance around the problem instead of actually dealing with the real issue. It doesn’t matter how hard you try; it always ends up with the same result.”
Watch the video…