"Next October" by Croissant

One very big advantage of the community spirit within so much of the local music scene is that people help others so much & that extends thankfully to tipping me off about interesting artists I hadn't previously heard of. So thank you to Ian Todd who informed me of the new single (his third) by Nexus Institute of Creative Arts student Ethan Heaselden, who performs as  Croissant,  called "Next October" which Ian mixed at Turtle Leaf Studios.

Following his previous singles "One Minute Away" and "I Don't Wanna Be Like Them", it was written & recorded by Ethan and mastered by Mike Lawetto.

Why I'm grateful for Toddy's tip is that Croissant's work not only indicates a talent but also those even more elusive qualities of creative originality and ability to write songs about actual life & genuine feelings. I speak with some particular intensity on these issues as, among the many excellent releases & live acts I've reviewed here, in recent weeks I've had other material brought to my attention which either apes the work of well known musicians to the point of tedium or has emotionally meaningless lyrics which merely string together clichés or sadly both. So to add another local writer capable of something true & innovative is uplifting.

This song is I suppose concerned with Seasonal Affective Disorder (pretty sure I've not reviewed one of those before, so another boost) and not only captures a dialogue which balances out the pessimistic mood of gloomy weather defining your lives with an optimism that things could well improve (by the "Next October" of the title) or at any rate we can all support each other through it, but utilises clever a musical setting which both evokes the oppressive feelings of depression but like a dark sky clearing, evolves into a brighter, if albeit still autumnal day. A neat & beautifully crafted piece of work and he has the performance skills to interpret his own vision effectively without the need for over arrangement or over producing it.

Since neither of his earlier singles either cover similar topics nor sound like this, I can feel confident too that Croissant is no one trick pony but has breadth to his craft. This is another interesting & individual local artist whose work I look forwards to following: another one with the apparent confidence to write what he feels without the necessity to wear the musical or lyrical clothes of another.

You can hear the track on Spotify via this link: https://open.spotify.com/track/2tKjdAY87HH8zWR6ooRMoh?si=c25d8d484e744241

and I've added it to the "Hot Music Live Presents" Spotify playlist too: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3oCggbP6HwfZDqaI2vNUtn?si=99ebc692bb8f44c9