We Speak Music

Bradley Jago Stakes His Claim On UK Soul With ‘My Inner Vitriol’ EP

Published

5 months ago

April 16, 2026

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.

Find Bradley Jago on INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE

Listen To Bradley Jago on SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC

We Speak Music

SCARECROW’s John Blaze Delivers a Career Milestone With “Twisted” and Earns Josie Music Awards Song of the Year Nomination

Published

17 hours ago

August 31, 2026

Jimmy Star

John Blaze has spent nearly four decades fronting SCARECROW, the New York hard-rock outfit he founded in 1989, and in 2026 he delivered one of the most ambitious releases of his career with “Twisted.” Now, the song has reached another major milestone: “Twisted” has been nominated for Song of the Year in the Metal/Alternative category at the Josie Music Awards.

The nomination places Blaze and SCARECROW among this year’s recognized independent artists and songwriters at the Josie Music Awards, with the awards ceremony set to take place at Nashville’s legendary Grand Ole Opry. For an artist whose career has been built on persistence, independence and decades of hard-rock storytelling, the recognition gives “Twisted” an entirely new chapter.

Written by John Blaze and Chaffin, “Twisted” pulls together a lineup of guest players that reads like a rock family reunion, built around Blaze’s long-standing friendship with Dee Snider and the legacy of Twisted Sister, a band woven into SCARECROW’s story from its earliest days.

That connection goes all the way back to the beginning. SCARECROW’s original lineup featured guitarist Eddie Ojeda, best known for his work in Twisted Sister, and the two camps have remained connected ever since. “Twisted” makes that history explicit: Dee Snider appears on the record with guest vocals during the track’s climactic second verse and chorus, lending the song an instantly recognizable jolt of arena-rock power.

Snider isn’t the only marquee name in the credits. Mark Wood, founding violinist of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, contributes electrifying violin work that gives “Twisted” a cinematic sweep uncommon in modern hard rock. Rounding out the track are TJ Jordan on lead guitar and Bobby Marks on drums, creating a powerful, road-tested foundation behind Blaze’s signature gritty vocal delivery.

The Josie Music Awards nomination feels particularly fitting because “Twisted” isn’t simply another SCARECROW release. It brings together different eras of Blaze’s musical life while pushing the band’s sound forward. There’s history in the recording, but there’s also urgency. It doesn’t sound like a band looking backward. It sounds like one with unfinished business.

For Blaze, the nomination also represents recognition of a career that has largely been built outside the traditional machinery of the mainstream music business. Independent rock artists rarely survive for decades without a fierce commitment to what they do, and SCARECROW’s longevity speaks for itself. From the band’s early years and its 1991 debut, through the Blood, Sweat and 20 Years retrospective and the theatrical production I Am SCARECROW, Blaze has continued developing a world around the music rather than simply releasing songs.

That makes the Song of the Year nomination especially meaningful. After nearly four decades of building SCARECROW, Blaze now heads to the Josie Music Awards at the Grand Ole Opry with one of his most ambitious songs recognized in the Metal/Alternative category.

And there’s something wonderfully appropriate about the song that got him there.

“Twisted” connects SCARECROW’s beginnings to its present, reunites Blaze musically with figures tied to the band’s history, and demonstrates just how much fire remains in the project. With Snider and Wood contributing to the record and Blaze still driving the band he created from the ground up, the track feels less like a nostalgic reunion than a statement of survival.

Now it’s also an award-nominated song.

For John Blaze and SCARECROW, nearly four decades into the journey, “Twisted” has become more than another entry in the catalog. It’s a career milestone — and this September, that milestone is taking SCARECROW all the way to the Grand Ole Opry.