DEAD LETTERS

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A quirky little thing here, is that the cover of Dead Letters will tell you side one isn’t done. But it is. Overall ‘Dead Letters’ is a reflective album that deserves to be played. A lot. It might not be as flash and showy as other albums released this year. However, there is a subtle elegance to it that elevates Aqualung from his peers. If you give it a chance you might find something very special indeed. At Aqualung’s recent ‘one night only UK tour’ (his first performance in the UK for 12 years at Bush Hall, London) Matt Hales let his devoted audience know just how clued up he is on streaming trends:

Jones, Bridget (10 November 2010). "Fraser experiments with Flags". Fairfax New Zealand . Retrieved 22 February 2013. Dead Letters is the new album from Aqualung - aka songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Matt Hales - his first in more than seven years.As early as 2004, Hales began collaborating with other artists as a songwriter and producer. He co-wrote " UR" by Tiësto which featured his lead vocal, and was released as a single and featured on the album Just Be. [37] He worked with Leona Lewis on her album Echo in 2009, [ citation needed] and in 2010 he co-wrote songs appearing on albums by Brooke Fraser, [38] Christophe Willem, and Boyzone. [39] Dead Letters side one ends with the first ‘single’, the gentle and melodic ‘ Imperfect Cadence’, which comes with a rather radio friendly chorus that proves beyond doubt Hale’s hit-making credentials are in fact well intact. It comes complete with a piano flourish at the end that is a nod to Hales’ classical training. The song is yet another parallel universe radio smash.

Cairns, Dan (29 October 2022). "The best albums of 2022 so far". The Times . Retrieved 5 November 2022.Aqualung first came to attention in 2002 when the debut single ‘Strange and Beautiful (I’ll Put A Spell On You)’ became a surprise UK Top 10 after being discovered via a Volkswagen Beetle advert. While that song created a magnetic allure, the strength and versatility of Hales’ songwriting further enamoured audiences. The debut self-titled Aqualung album reached Gold status in recognition of over 100,000 domestic sales, while the brighter symphonic scope of his second album, Still Life, led to another chart hit with ‘Brighter Than Sunshine’. By the time Aqualung’s third album, Memory Man emerged, glowing comparisons had been made with everyone from Bacharach to Radiohead via The Beach Boys, while his music has featured in ‘Twilight’, ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’. Brownlee, Bill (2 April 2008). "Review: Hotel Cafe Tour". The Kansas City Star . Retrieved 21 February 2013. Hodgkinson, Will (23 April 2003). "Wired for sound". Guardian Media Group . Retrieved 21 February 2013. In the time between the previous Aqualung album, 2015’s ‘10 Futures’, and the release of ‘Dead Letters’, Hales’ reputation as a songwriter and producer flourished. Collaborating with all kinds of artists – including Lianne La Havas, Bat For Lashes, Mika, Tom Chaplin, Jason Mraz, For King & Country and countless others – his hectic yet immensely rewarding schedule resulted in huge acclaim, including both an Ivor Novello and a Grammy. No wonder, then, that aside from occasionally briefly resurfacing, Aqualung remained in hibernation. Matthew Nicholas Hales (born 17 January 1972) [1] is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer who has been performing professionally under the name Aqualung since the early 2000s. [2] Aqualung is best known in the UK for his song " Strange and Beautiful", which was featured on a television advertisement for the new Volkswagen Beetle during the summer of 2002 [3] and went on to become a top 10 hit on the UK Singles Chart later that year. [4] In the United States, Aqualung is also known for the song " Brighter Than Sunshine", which had considerable airplay and was used in the film A Lot Like Love [5] and various television spots. Hales has released seven albums as Aqualung. The most recent, Dead Letters, appeared in 2022.

Mervis, Scott (5 May 2005). "Music Preview: Matt Hales, aka Aqualung, explains confusion with Jethro Tull album". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Retrieved 21 February 2013. Aqualung first came to attention in 2002 when the debut single ‘Strange & Beautiful (I’ll Put A Spell On You)’ became a surprise UK Top 10 after being discovered via a Volkswagen Beetle advert. While that song created a magnetic allure, the strength and versatility of Hales’ songwriting further enamoured audiences. The debut self-titled Aqualung album reached Gold status in recognition of over 100,000 domestic sales, while the brighter symphonic scope of his second album, ‘Still Life’, led to another chart hit with ‘Brighter Than Sunshine’. By the time Aqualung’s third album, ‘Memory Man’ emerged, glowing comparisons had been made with everyone from Bacharach to Radiohead via The Beach Boys, while his music has featured in ‘Twilight’, ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’. GOOD TIMES GONNA COME: "2002 12 08 Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. officialcharts.com/.That was Matt’s rather tongue-in-cheek cue to launch into Champion of the World, alas, not a streaming hit. But most definitely not worthless either, the song is as close to a hit single as he’ll write these days (and a surefire hit in a parallel universe of good taste). It even has a Doobie Brother’s bounce! Maynard, Trent (17 December 2012). "news: Lianne La Havas' year in review". Box Television. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013 . Retrieved 22 February 2013.

James, Nicole (21 February 2013). "Lianne La Havas Is Winning British Soul Right Now". Fuse . Retrieved 22 February 2013. Ramirez, Erika (22 August 2012). "Lianne La Havas, Reps Talk 'Is Your Love Big Enough?' Album & Stardom". Prometheus Global Media . Retrieved 22 February 2013. Vaziri, Aidin (9 November 2012). "Lianne La Havas' dreams are coming true". Hearst Corporation . Retrieved 22 February 2013. One of the great things about streaming is that the system tells you what the best songs are that you’ve ever written. It ranks them, so you can also see all the songs you’ve written that aren’t very good as well. Accordingly this next song is…absolutely worthless!”.Fool’ starts off as a sombre piano ballad. As the song progresses strings and guitars gently explode from the speakers. These tiny maelstroms match the lyrical content of the song. “It’s been a while since I told the truth”; “You think I’m a fool / I think you’re right” and “You are the hurricane that blows me away” are wonderfully telling lyrics. Aqualung - Aqualung HQ: We're delighted to let you be the... - Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Eliezer, Christie (16 November 2011). "Amy Meredith: new international management deal, split from Sony". The Music Network . Retrieved 22 February 2013. As those songs evolved into a catalogue of material, Hales reunited with some of the team behind the second Aqualung album, ‘Still Life’, for sessions at Real World near Bath, where that album was recorded. Those demos were finessed over the course of two years with some of his trusted collaborators: his brother Ben Hales, his wife Kim Oliver, and Matt Vincent-Brown, his bandmate in his pre- Aqualung projects The 45s and Ruth.