Shadow Bones is the new solo project of Hampshire singer-songwriter Luke Williams. During his twenty-year music career, Williams has been supported by the likes of CLASH and BBC Introducing and he’s been involved in touring bands, playing in front of crowds of up to 30,000. However, this is the first time Williams has stepped forward as a solo song-writer, exposing his vulnerabilities in his personal, revealing songs.
The pandemic changed everything, presenting the time and opportunity to look back on his life and reflect on his rock-star lifestyle and the challenges he has faced, including addiction and homelessness. Amidst the introspection, Shadow Bones was created. Now seven years’ sober, Williams says: “Writing songs in lockdown was cathartic, a means of therapy. It transported me back to a dark period of time I had left behind in the years of recovering when I was battling my demons. Being in lockdown gave me that time to reflect on life, what’s been, appreciate what you do have and what you don’t. ‘Over and Out’ is about being able to accept the reality of relationships ending and being able to move on with life to find new happiness.”
This single is an dynamic, foot-tapping song that immediately launches into upbeat and engaging rhythms. ‘Over and Out’ is a well-crafted song, all about the almost-summer energy and melody. Williams’ vocal delivery is clear and tuneful, and it’s hard not to be moved by the direct sentiment of: “…all I ever really wanted, was all I ever really had, yeah all I ever really wanted, was to be, happy, I hope you understand.” This simple message is all the more emotive in the context of the clever video, which shows a couple enjoying being together by the beach, mostly presented through old film footage like memories of better times. The bitter-sweet nostalgic feel is reinforced by the periodic moments when the protagonist in the narrative is now alone, revisiting the very same locations where he had once found such happiness. It’s artfully directed and is an example of how a song can be genuinely enhanced by a well-produced video.
That period of creativity in the lockdown led to Williams creating enough new songs for an album in just two weeks and a month later they were recorded and ready. We can expect a full album from Shadow Bones in 2023, a set of songs that narrates his story from a fast life-style to the lows of homelessness and then re-finding himself. This is Americana-rock with heart and soul. Enjoy.
