We Speak Music
Bradley Jago Stakes His Claim On UK Soul With ‘My Inner Vitriol’ EP
Rising soul-pop artist Bradley Jago returns with EP ‘My Inner Vitriol’. Drawing parallels to Leon Bridges, Olivia Dean, and Joy Crookes, the striking EP sees Bradley Jago sitting at the intersection of contemporary soul and pop. Co-signed by BBC Music Introducing and Future Hits Radio, the project unpacks the destabilising force of love, tracing its spiral of self-doubt and acceptance. Landing at Number 1 on the iTunes R&B Album Chart on release day, the EP marks a defining moment in Bradley’s ascent, as ‘My Inner Vitriol’ showcases Bradley’s signature soul vocals in their most fully realised form yet.
Framed by Logan Apsin’s production, the project captures Bradley’s first experience of falling in love. As the EP evolves, Bradley traces his shifting emotional landscape, each track acting as a new iteration of his inner world as insecurity and uncertainty resurface in shifting, unexpected forms.
From the hazy textures of ‘I Forgot’ through to the R&B-leaning ‘You Let Go’, the six-track EP swims effortlessly between subtlety and scale. The lead single, ‘Killer Queen’, ignites the project with a hook-led pop lift, while ‘In The End’ is grounded by delicate piano from Joe Burnett, unfolding as a ballad that showcases Bradley’s standout vocal performance. At its heart, the title track ‘My Inner Vitriol’ anchors the EP, rising from restraint into widescreen, with strings that swell with the weight of thoughts that refuse to settle. As the title single, an accompanying music video is set to be released alongside. The final track ‘Burn’ arrives as the embers after impact, elevated again by Shirin Nisametdin’s intricate strings, as ‘My Inner Vitriol’ resolves with the unguarded ballad.
Speaking on the meaning of the EP, Bradley shares,
“My Inner Vitriol is about the daily fight within myself about which thoughts are mine and which are defence mechanisms. Experiencing love for the first time brought a lot to the surface, and after the honeymoon phase came a deeper realisation that I have to face my inner struggles on my own. That heaviness shaped the project into something darker, more dramatic, and more exposed than anything I’ve released before.”
Penning emotionally raw lyrics has always been central to Bradley Jago’s artistry, yet ‘My Inner Vitriol’ sees him stepping into a wider soundworld. A world where warm soul textures meet sweeping orchestral depth, endlessly orbiting the heart that Bradley Jago wears firmly on his sleeve.
About Bradley Jago
Bradley Jago is a London-based artist whose music blends the warmth of classic soul with the infectious hooks of modern pop. Proclaiming his music as ‘queer soul for queer souls’, Jago’s discography is routinely dark, vulnerable and cinematic, as he moves seamlessly between heartfelt ballads, sleek pop, and soaring neo-soul anthems. Having grown up and begun his early music career in Portsmouth, Jago’s discography is unwaveringly autobiographical, as he documents his journey from navigating queer identity in a conservative city to discovering freedom and self-expression within London’s creative landscape. Channelling influences from Adele and Amy Winehouse to Sam Smith and Leon Bridges, Jago is on a mission to centre queerness within the modern soul landscape, as he offers up intricate, nuanced stories that come with queer experiences.
Since debuting in 2021 with Moonstruck, Jago has built a rich and evolving body of work. His early singles Rain (2021) and Distractions (2021) established his place as a rising voice in UK soul, the latter breaking into the Local Music Chart Top 100. Later releases, including the Bradley Jago Live Sessions EP (2022), Girl Problems EP (2024), Keep On (2024), and Bound To You, (2024), have showcased his versatility and emotional depth, securing numerous BBC Music Introducing plays and amassed nearly one million streams on Spotify alone.
A captivating live performer, Jago has played extensively across London and South East England, with multiple sold-out headline shows to date. Jago has also cultivated a flourishing presence across TikTok, where his authenticity, charisma, and catchy hooks have fostered a growing community of deeply connected listeners.
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Listen To Bradley Jago on SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC
We Speak Music
Phoebe June Traces Love, Distance and Heartbreak on New EP ‘Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate’
For Phoebe June, some stories are easier to tell through music.
Her new EP, ‘Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate’, is an intimate collection that traces the emotional journey of a relationship from the exhilaration of falling in love to distance, uncertainty, heartbreak and, ultimately, learning to let go.
Inspired by artists including Gracie Abrams, Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers, Phoebe June combines diary-like lyricism with melancholic ballads, subtle uptempo moments and an understated, emotionally honest production style.
At the centre of the project is ‘Thursday’, a bittersweet track about loving someone from a distance and holding onto the hope that the connection might survive.
Written after Phoebe left a country that held deep personal meaning, and left someone she cared about behind, the song looks back at the relationship from its beginning. Even its title is personal: the two first met on a Thursday.
The song captures the complicated feeling of walking away from something meaningful without believing that it necessarily has to be over. It’s about distance, memory and the possibility of finding your way back to someone, while recognising that hope only works when it goes both ways.
Across six tracks, the EP develops that story in sequence.
‘Everything You Are’ opens the project with the warmth of new love, while ‘Dead Sea’ explores the security of finding someone who helps you stay afloat through difficult times. As the story progresses, ‘Thursday’ introduces separation before ‘Getaway Car’ moves into the aftermath; unanswered questions, lingering attachment and the realisation that someone can profoundly affect your life while still being unhealthy for you.
‘One Day’ leaves the door open to the possibility of a future reunion, balancing hope with the understanding that some relationships may only exist in memory.
The EP closes with ‘Ophelia’, its emotional breaking point. Inspired in part by Friedrich Heyser’s painting of the same name, the track confronts the pain of feeling manipulated and unappreciated after giving everything to someone else.
The result is a project that deliberately moves from light to dark. Phoebe June considered not only the narrative but the emotional progression when sequencing the EP, allowing the brightness of its opening to gradually give way to the heartbreak of its closing moments.
Even the title reflects that feeling.
‘Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate’ takes its name from a flower, with the image of a gate separating two people becoming a metaphor for a love that remains beautiful but just out of reach. To reach over it requires effort, just as maintaining a connection across distance, uncertainty and changing circumstances does.
Ultimately, Phoebe June isn’t interested in simply documenting her own heartbreak.
She wants listeners to recognise themselves in it.
‘Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate’ is a collection about love, nostalgia, hope and regret and about what remains when something beautiful ends up on the other side of the gate.
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