Harry Miles Watson and The Union have released their new single ‘Bodies’.
The latest track from Edinburgh-based singer-songwriter Harry Miles-Watson and his band The Union follows several sold out shows across the UK in summer 2023 as they gear up for their biggest year yet.
Speaking of the single, Harry said: “Heartbreak, loneliness and staying the night because your date had central heating are all aspects of dating in your twenties that ‘Bodies’ encapsulates. This “love” ballad sets the listener up as a classic to cry to, building slowly as the vocalists wrap around each other, both describing their inability to love only finding casual intimacy in its place.”
To celebrate their single release, the band shared with us 5 tracks that influenced ‘Bodies’.
Dodie – I Kissed Someone (It Wasn’t You)
A large amount of stuff that Dodie writes about centre around the same lyrical content as bodies so I was drawn to it when we were arranging the track with the band. The edition of strings drew me in like nothing else and I just thought “damn, we’ve got to have something like that in ‘Bodies’.
Madds Buckley – The Red Means I Love You
Following the need for some form of classical influence on the track, I’d also suggest that this next track had a massive influence on Bodies. Music that can build a swell that feels natural and more an extension of the lyrical content rather than something thats running parallel to it is something I always try to achieve when writing something. And by god I wish I wrote this.
Andrew Garfield – Why (Tick Tick Boom Soundtrack)
I asked the guys about inspirations for any arrangement choices for their parts on the track and Alistar (keys) threw out that a lot of the feeling in the piano on the track can find its roots in musical theatre / specifically ‘Why’ from Tick Tick Boom. We’ve ended up drawing up a lot from musical theatre theory in our most recent recordings and Al’s choice in keys in the track certainly fits that ethos.
Sidney Gish – Presumably Dead Arm
When it comes to lyrical inspiration, while much of the style and rhythm of the lyrics I write come from an incredibly wide field (as can be said for any writer), in this case the one that really jumps out to me is truly anything by Sidney Gish. I’ve picked ‘Presumably Dead Arm’ due to its swell as the song progresses but you could have picked anything from her discography. To have lyrics that flow off the tongue in this way is something I will always aim to imitate and have again tried to in ‘Bodies’.
Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers – Island in the Stream
So I wanted to of course talk about our featured artists on the track Ailish Barry but I couldn’t think of any specific song that inspired the use of a duet on the track. When writing ‘Bodies’, it felt right the song should be a duet, a discussion of two agents who feel trapped in their situation and not willing enough or brave enough to leave it behind. Therefore, when it came to picking the person to duet with, it had to be Ailish. An old friend of the band, she’s the most technically proficient vocalist I’ve ever worked with (plus she’s a joy to be around ) and she sends this song into the stratosphere for me. Anyways here’s a Dolly duet cause no matter what anyone might write, you can’t beat the Queen.
Listen to the influences behind ‘Bodies’ below:
Stream Harry Miles Watson and The Union ‘Bodies’ via Spotify below: