We Speak Music
Tom Moriarty’s ‘Chapters’ Is a Triumph of Songwriting and Resilience
On his fifth studio album, Chapters, British singer-songwriter Tom Moriarty delivers the most expansive and accomplished work of his career. Years in the making and shaped by personal adversity, artistic growth and hard-earned experience, the record finds Moriarty broadening his folk-rock foundations with a confident embrace of electric guitar, Southern rock influences and richly layered arrangements. The result is an album that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant.
Long admired for his thoughtful songwriting and expressive vocal delivery, Moriarty has built his reputation on heartfelt storytelling rather than fleeting trends. Chapters continues that tradition while marking a significant evolution in his sound. Where previous releases leaned heavily on acoustic textures, this new collection introduces a muscular electric edge without sacrificing the emotional intimacy that has always defined his music.
Opening track Enemy Inside immediately signals that shift. Driven by soaring guitar work and an urgent rhythm section, the song channels frustration, resilience and self-reflection into one of the album’s most powerful moments. Moriarty’s distinctive voice—equal parts grit and soul—cuts through the dense instrumentation with conviction, while his newly prominent lead guitar playing adds a fresh sense of confidence to his artistry.
That confidence extends throughout the record. Having studied at the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, Moriarty finally allows his electric guitar influences to take centre stage, and the results are striking. On You Are My Island, expressive solos move effortlessly between delicate blues phrasing and soaring climactic passages, revealing a guitarist whose technical ability never overshadows the emotional heart of the song. Influences ranging from B.B. King and Eric Clapton to Jimmy Page and Prince can be heard, yet Moriarty ultimately shapes them into a voice that feels distinctly his own.
Despite its heavier moments, Chapters never loses sight of balance. Tender acoustic songs such as She’s Like The River and One Day provide moments of quiet reflection, allowing Moriarty’s songwriting to shine without embellishment. Meanwhile, the autobiographical On The Road Again celebrates a life spent travelling across continents, capturing both the romance and restlessness of an artist continually searching for new perspectives.
The emotional depth of the album is impossible to separate from the circumstances surrounding its creation. Written following a career-threatening accident and a serious dog attack that injured Moriarty’s left hand, the songs carry the weight of perseverance without ever becoming self-indulgent. Rather than dwelling on hardship, Chapters transforms adversity into optimism, finding strength in vulnerability and hope in renewal.
Production from Tristan Longworth complements that emotional range beautifully. The album sounds warm, organic and timeless, allowing every instrument room to breathe. A stellar supporting cast—including drummer Evan Jenkins, bassist Thibault Guillen, violinist Georgie Leach, Hammond organ player Rich Milner and the soulful backing vocals of Louise and Melanie Marshall—adds texture and richness throughout, enhancing the arrangements without distracting from Moriarty’s songwriting.
What ultimately makes Chapters so compelling is its sense of earned confidence. Every stylistic expansion feels purposeful, every guitar solo emotionally motivated, and every lyric rooted in lived experience. Moriarty never chases grandiosity for its own sake; instead, he allows each song to develop naturally, guided by melody, musicianship and emotional truth.
Delayed for several years by circumstances beyond his control, Chapters arrives not as a record that has missed its moment, but as one that has benefited from the passage of time. It feels mature, fully realised and remarkably cohesive, documenting an artist who has weathered personal and professional storms to emerge with renewed purpose.
With Chapters, Tom Moriarty has crafted more than simply another strong addition to his catalogue. He has created an album that honours his roots while confidently embracing new creative territory, balancing intimate songwriting with expansive musicianship in a way that feels both timeless and contemporary. It stands as a testament to resilience, artistic evolution and the enduring power of honest songwriting.
There’s something wonderfully provocative about writing a song about God and then dressing it in the musical equivalent of black leather, shadowy nightclubs and the occasional reference to 666.
On ‘Take It or Leave It’, London-based artist Alysha challenges the assumption that spirituality and alternative music belong in separate worlds, delivering a brooding collision of gothic electronics, new-wave tension and unapologetic self-expression.
It’s an intriguing contradiction, but one that makes considerably more sense when you consider the artist behind it. Raised on everything from church gospel and Lauryn Hill to Siouxsie & The Banshees, Alysha has never had much reason to believe that musical identity should be confined to one particular sound. Here, those seemingly opposing influences finally find a shared language.
Co-produced alongside Matt Rist, ‘Take It or Leave It’ replaces the familiar warmth of gospel with shadowy synths, electronic textures and a distinctly nocturnal atmosphere. There’s a hypnotic quality to the production, allowing gothic tension to sit comfortably alongside Alysha’s melodic instincts without sacrificing the track’s accessibility.
The most interesting element, however, isn’t simply the contrast between its sound and subject matter. It’s the way Alysha uses that contrast to question the expectations surrounding both.
Faith is often associated with a particular musical vocabulary, while gothic and alternative culture are frequently positioned as its natural opposition. Alysha appears considerably less interested in maintaining that distinction. Her decision to reference 666, a symbol traditionally associated with everything her song ostensibly celebrates the opposite of, feels deliberately mischievous.
Yet beneath the provocation, the message remains remarkably straightforward. As Alysha herself explains, it’s an alternative song about God. No elaborate justification, no attempt to soften the darker aesthetics, and certainly no suggestion that spirituality must sound a particular way to be sincere.
That confidence extends to the track’s exploration of personal boundaries. Even its title, ‘Take It or Leave It’, suggests an artist increasingly comfortable presenting herself without negotiation. Listeners are welcome to embrace the contradictions, but she isn’t particularly concerned with resolving them on anybody else’s behalf.
It’s a fitting direction for an artist whose career has already moved through R&B, alternative pop and electronic experimentation. Rather than abandoning her earlier influences, Alysha seems to be finding increasingly unexpected ways for them to coexist.
That evolution also arrives at an important moment. With October bringing her biggest live appearances yet, supporting LANY across three stadium dates in Japan and another in South Korea, Alysha is preparing to introduce her music to considerably larger audiences. Interestingly, that expanding platform hasn’t encouraged her to become more conventional. If anything, ‘Take It or Leave It’ suggests the opposite.
Ultimately, the single’s most compelling rebellion isn’t its gothic production or provocative symbolism. It’s Alysha’s refusal to accept that faith, femininity and alternative identity must exist within somebody else’s expectations.
There are plenty of artists making dark electronic music, and plenty writing about spirituality. Alysha’s achievement is making the combination feel less like a contradiction than an entirely natural expression of who she is.
After all, if faith is supposed to be personal, perhaps the music expressing it should be too.
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