Album review.

‘Miss Belief’ tells the story of a young woman having her first experiences with growing up, relationships, grief and emotional growth. Whether the lyrics are accompanied by melodic plucking of the strings on her guitar, strumming or the notes on the piano dancing around, Rebecca sings with such an obvious intent to portray herself in her most authentic form. As a sound, the album truly is an ethereal presentation of how growing up sounds when you’re a young adult. Whether the world caused you to grow up a little sooner than you should have or it was a little kinder to you, you can find where you relate anywhere in this album, that’s the best part to me. 

 

The first track, ‘Overture/turning’ holds the story of finding yourself as you’re reaching your teenage years. 

 

Rebecca: “It was one of the first songs I wrote for the album, then I decided to record it later on, as kind of a tribute to my younger self.”

 

I think finding the words to describe such complex feelings at such a young age is such an impressive form of self confidence. When you are coming of age, realistically all you truly have is your emotions, which are all over the place. It makes the feeling of never being understood by the people around you feel much greater than it ever has done before purely because everyone else is experiencing similar things in a different manner but still not the same as you; you feel like you have no one to relate to but you relate to everybody in portions. It’s a mess. A clusterfuck really. 

 

Rebecca: “It was so hard to find the words for such a universal but messy bunch of feelings that would be understood by people as the singular experience of being a teen. Lyrics are so important to me when it comes to producing, I like to keep it conversational to create the intimate feeling.”

 

All throughout the album, Rebecca uses the variety of sounds an acoustic guitar has to offer. Whether she’s strumming melodically to create that rustic yet angelic feel you get when you reminisce on your childhood or plucking and slapping in order to give her memory the edge they have to her. Even in your twenties, to sit and look back on your childhood you do tend to realise how lucky you were but also how difficult it actually was to navigate a whole different stage in your life, as I’m having to do now. 

 

The third track of the album is “Cig Break (i don't smoke)”. This song is about “small changes you make for someone and picking up habits that were never yours to begin with” as said on the singer's TikTok page, an accurate summary of a really touching song that sums up how young people often change themselves in order to fit in with the crowd they’re around or simply to get closer to a person. 

 

Every song throughout this album is such an intelligent way to express the hardships and the beauty of growing up, a true product of raw talent.

Gig review.

The pub is booming. Everyone has a pint in their hand or they’re eating Thai food. The music in the background whilst waiting for the bands to start has a beat anyone can dance to. One of those beats that matches everyone in the room - eager for the performances. 

 

After a 30 minute wait and a bowl of chips for the table, Rebecca Spooner - a small artist from Todmorden and the first act of the night walks up to the mic. Guitar in hand and her way of making words sound more interesting with her. Nothing else. Nothing else is needed. 

 

Then she begins. Plucking and strumming at the strings like the guitar was made spot on just to be played by her. She opens with “Town”. Fitting as we’re in Todmorden, the town she grew up in. A calm soundtrack to start the night. The gentle strumming of the guitar and the soft tones of her singing meshes quite well with the sun just about setting. There’s gentle chatter and laughing behind me, but it still fits. The usual bumble of a small but busy pub in a small town, but with a soundtrack that just seems to fit it perfectly. The song is about the people she grew up with changing and becoming adults (a scary change), some of those people are actually in the pub. They’re still in the streets she’s singing about. 

 

Another drink later, Rebecca is now playing “I should’ve known you loved her”. Not an album song, but it definitely should be. The way she just breezes through as if performing is simply second nature. It’s a little crowded and sweaty in the pub.  

A few people are swaying from being here much longer than me. It’s been a hot afternoon. Pub weather. 

But somehow they still look so focused on the music. There are so many different people here tonight. People that aren’t even from Todmorden, different communities, people from different livelihoods. Who knew you’d see so many tradies in the same room as rich golf bros. Despite their differences, I’ve still heard them talking about the same thing, Rebecca’s voice. The setting may be a little out of the ordinary, but her voice just sails through it. Somehow still sounding so balanced and angelic, unbothered by the amount of testosterone in the room. Then again, even the manliest of these men can relate to the music. Growing up. Having to rely on raw and intense emotion to get you through that portion of your life. 

 

The experience Rebecca has in music is obvious as she transitions from I Should’ve Known You Loved Her to I Don’t Believe In Much. She might be opening for a larger act, but she’s still got everyone’s attention. Singlehandedly showing why coming to see openers can lead you to a whole new addition to the playlist. 

 

The last song has just faded out, and everyone is cheering. Clapping. Whistling. The energy in the room is so full of support and enjoyment. To be honest I wish she could stay up longer. She has the type of voice that you could listen to for long periods of time. Short periods feel like an unfinished interaction. I want to hear more of her story in person. I think that’s how a few of us feel, I can see people leaving before the main act is even announced. 

 

An artist from a small town with huge potential in the indie scene. Despite being one of many talented artists from Todmorden such as The Caymans, The Incident etc, Rebecca has a certain uniqueness to her vibe that can’t quite be compared. For example, the stories she tells through her song writing have such a level of understanding of herself and her emotions that not many young artists have, especially at 19. And not to mention her musical talent. To produce an album at home, completely of your own skill and passion shows the diligence this girl has when it comes to her passion. 

 

Being from Todmorden seems to set the scene for Rebecca’s music through its rustic yet gentle beauty, with rolling hills and rich history. Her combination of folk music with an electronic element creates an atmosphere around her music that is relatable yet so personal to her, allowing her authenticity to shine through. Her music shows how the place that sets the scene can impact one’s expression through their music, some might say there are more layers to her than the Pennine Hills. For someone so young to have such a compelling way of self expression does not only stand her out from other artists, but also puts her as a role model for other young people out there who may struggle with doing so, a highly admirable position to be in at just 19. 

 

Her authenticity also carries on from her sound, to her production of her album ‘Miss Belief’ which she produced independently at home inspired by the folk traditions and electronic exploration that did take place in Todmorden and areas around. Having such an unfiltered access to this while growing up, this has allowed her to go as far as she has in her journey to fuse the two genres in such a way that it sounds like walking through a dream. With the gentle climbing of the piano and guitar behind her soft and angelic vocals. For example, in ‘Overture’ before the lyrics actually start, the instruments seem to tell the story before she does. The stories Rebecca tells are quite the universal experience for young people, a coming of age album and story beautifully told through such a mature intelligence and craftsmanship of words delivered to us as music. This creates a bond between her and her audience as no matter who is listening, everyone has had their own first experiences with the themes of grief, relationships and emotional growth mentioned.