2023 proved to be a big year for Willie J Healey as he earned widespread critical acclaim for his ‘Bunny’ album, including Album of the Year recognition from Guy Garvey at 6 Music plus Rough Trade, Truck, Vinilo and Resident as well as playing high profile tours with Florence + The Machine, Arctic Monkeys and Jamie T. Today sees Willie J Healey share the brand-new single ‘The Apple’ ahead of a huge year of touring ahead.
‘The Apple’ feels like a succinct summary of Willie’s most compelling artistic traits as it unites the contemporary take on ‘70s funk and vintage soul influences of the ‘Bunny’ album with his long-standing admiration for Neil Young and Elvis Costello. Lyrically it’s just as positive as the themes that dominated ‘Bunny’ as Willie celebrates where he’s currently at, with flashes of his self-deprecating humour also shining through. It is effectively a product of the continuation of the creative process behind ‘Bunny’ after Willie returned to New York last December for a week-long session with the album’s producer Loren Humphries (Florence + The Machine, Arctic Monkeys).
Willie says, “I wrote ‘The Apple’ after feeling weird and self-aware. I was living in my head until I realised, man, life is short… so be yourself, get your cake and fu*king eat it!”
The visual for the song plays upon those thoughts as Willie throws self-awareness to the wind with an uninhibited performance full of personality against a backdrop that takes inspiration from ‘The Ames Room’ and depth perception photography to ingenious effect. It was directed by his regular visual collaborator AJ Stark.
The release of ‘The Apple’ brings further big news from the Willie J Healey camp after the announcement he will tour as special guests to IDLES later this year. The band and particularly Joe Talbot join the likes of Alex Turner, Florence Welch and Jamie T as high-profile members of the WJH fan club.
The IDLES tour adds to an already busy schedule for Willie. After selling out the Brixton Electric last year, he will now take ‘Bunny’ on a second UK tour next month before embarking upon his debut European headline run later that month. His summer festival schedule is also building up, with Latitude, Truck, Tramlines, Boardmasters and Psych all already confirmed. Willie’s upcoming shows are listed below, please see HERE for ticket details.
