Nina Nesbitt – The Sun Will Come Up, The Seasons Will Change

Not the collection of hits we were anticipating, with The Sun Will Come Up, The Seasons Will Change Nina Nesbitt comes of age

Album Review by Briony Pickford | 29 Jan 2019
  • Nina Nesbitt – The Sun Will Come Up, The Seasons Will Change
Album title: The Sun Will Come Up, The Seasons Will Change
Artist: Nina Nesbitt
Label: Cooking Vinyl
Release date: 1 Feb

Back with her witty, dry humour and pop riffs, Nina Nesbitt is taking a second shot at stardom. Her latest album The Sun Will Come Up, the Seasons Will Change is fresher and shows a maturity only time can provide but is it what we’ve been waiting for?

The Scottish pop sensation briefly hit the big time in 2013 when her sophomore single Stay Out peaked at number 21 in the UK chart. Since then she has been signed, and dropped, by Island Records. Sounds like quite the rollercoaster, but despite the stomach-churning highs and lows she seems to have landed on her feet.

Now signed to Cooking Vinyl, Nesbitt’s brief fall from the stars has proved beneficial. She possesses much more pizzazz and, since learning more about production, is now the boss of her own music – a Scottish Lady Gaga without the wigs. Her latest album is a far cry from the Scottish folk-pop/rock that first established her popularity.

The album begins with Sacred, a declaration of the changes she has experienced in her character which now influence her desire for something beautiful and, well, sacred. It’s the perfect introduction to a very self-autobiographical album, setting the tone of reflection and new beginnings. The Moments I’m Missing hears Nesbitt’s best Rihanna impression come to the fore. The track feels darker than the rest, due in equal measure to its low pitching and the matter-of-fact reflection she uses to describe how her climb and fall through the charts affected her life. An electronic drum kit adds to this raw regret with its tinny, stripped-back sound.

The regret is short-lived though, as the next song sees Nesbitt back on top with a definite album highlight and absolute must-listen: The Best You Had. The song displays the wry talent she first presented in her original releases, which commented on hipsters and boys that didn’t know when to give up.  Along with Is It Really Me You’re Missing she focuses on more serious topics, questioning emotional allegiances in relationships and the honesty of those who at first appear to adore you but really don’t.

Many of the songs show the maturity Nesbitt has gained over the past four years. Her experiences have provided her with insight into the reality of modern relationships, and she uses that to her advantage with her witty-slash-cynical lyrics: 'Am I the only number that you’ve tried?'

Some of the songs here seem more heavily influenced by other pop artists of the moment. Colder screams Taylor Swift in its classic use of regretful self-reflection ('Why did you wake up with somebody in your bed again?') and references to how the crushing of fairytale expectations of relationships turns everyone bitter ('When you’re young and you get your heart broken / And he leaves the scars open / When you can’t believe it’s over / That’s when you get a little colder').

While it may not be the collection of hits we were hoping for, The Sun Will Come Up, The Seasons Will Change is a little like a compilation of musical diary entries sprinkled with newly learnt wisdom: it’s fun, it’s new, and it’s Nesbitt's coming-of-age moment.

Listen to: The Best You Had, Is It Really Me You're Missing

http://www.ninanesbittmusic.com/