Immersing across both lush introspection and cathartic emotion in its charming folk sound, “Craving” is a newly released single from Ian Roland. The Brighton, England-based artist draws partly from nostalgia in the themes within, noting childhood memories of visiting Crystal Palace Park with his big sisters, to see big model dinosaurs on display. “It was a mix of trepidation and excitement to seek out the prehistoric animals amidst the Park’s trees and the grey, rainy skies of the Borough of Bromley,” Roland explains.
He continues: “I knew the park as Crystal Park, a magical park, and it features in this song, which is about the enduring power of love that can sometimes haunt us, like a toxic drug, but also sustain and uplift us, if we give it enough space.”
Breezy acoustics and reflective lyrics captivate from the get-go, as Roland traces back to these memories: “Carved our names inside a heart, on my favorite tree in Crystal Park.” The retrospective verses exude a sense of melancholy in their wistful longing, though escalating into an enjoyable warmness in the ensuing “love goes on and on / the world sings one more song,” outpouring. Mishkin Fitzgerald’s dreamy, soaring backing vocals add wonderfully there, as well. The “craving love,” bridge is especially magnetic, capped off by heartfelt strings. “Craving” is an emotively resonant standout from Ian Roland.
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The track is also featured in the genre-based, best-of Spotify compilation Emerging Indie Folk.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup, as part of the artist’s promotional campaign.
