{"id":99682,"date":"2025-07-25T10:00:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T09:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=99682"},"modified":"2025-07-25T00:03:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T23:03:16","slug":"how-i-wrote-year-two-by-brightr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/how-i-wrote-year-two-by-brightr\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Wrote\u2026 ‘Year Two’ by Brightr"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nine years ago, Laurie Cottingham, aka Brightr<\/strong>, delivered his debut album –\u00a0‘Year One’<\/em><\/a>. It saw the Newport-based singer-songwriter establish his brand of emotionally-charged acoustic emo-pop. He would follow it up with the ‘Two Sides’<\/em> EP<\/a> in 2019. Rooted in his cathartic lyricism, the six-track outing highlighted Cottingham’s vulnerability.\u00a0Today (July 25th) sees\u00a0Brightr<\/strong> deliver\u00a0‘Year Two’<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Picking up where\u00a0‘Year One’\u00a0<\/em>and in part,\u00a0‘Two Sides’<\/em> left off,\u00a0‘Year Two’<\/em> sees\u00a0Brightr<\/strong> return with nine personal cuts of “gloomy emo-pop”. Cottingham’s earnest words are thoroughly diaristic, maintaining the lyrically exposed nature of its predecessors. There’s a constant heartfelt and raw approach to Cottingham’s music. He’s just a man with his guitar, pouring his soul out for anyone willing to listen.<\/p>\n

Working alongside producer\/engineer Matt O\u2019Grady (You Me At Six \/Deaf Havana \/ Don Broco), songs such as\u00a0‘Charles Petrescu’<\/em> and\u00a0‘Lugosi’<\/em> are delivered with a pop-punk-like rush.\u00a0 Elsewhere, ‘Whimsy’<\/em> and ‘Lovejoy’<\/em> dwell in a serene balladic nature. Whereas ‘Coffee’<\/em> offers a beacon of hope in a world of hopelessness.<\/p>\n

To tell the story of how\u00a0‘Year Two’<\/em> came to be,\u00a0Brightr<\/strong>‘s Laurie Cottingham has penned a detailed walkthrough of the record. Read on as he tells the stories behind the songs of\u00a0‘Year Two’<\/em>.<\/p>\n