Magazine Interview with Laura Bradley
Congratulations to The Longing on their first single, Come On, chosen as the anthem for International Women’s Day 2017!
The Longing thanks the following stations for all of their support on our newest single, “How Do You Know” from our new album, ‘Tales of Torment’!
Total Rock, Eagle Radio, ACR Network, UTG Radio, The Sound Lab, Rock Radio UK, Rotation Media,Delta Fm, Rock Radio UK, Under The Gunn Radio (Candy Gunn), Eagle Radio, Atlantic Radio, Longside Radio, Redroad Radio, Artist Controlled Radio, Switch Radio, Radio Bicester, Chippenham Fm, Wigwam Fm, Radio Horton, Radio Deeside, Flame Radio, Way Out Radio, Canterbury Radio, Takeover Radio, CSR, Trent Sound, Sine FM 102.6, Wey Valley Radio, Severn FM 107, The Voice, Liver Radio, CCR-FM, Miskin Radio, United FM, Atlantic Radio
40 Days
Pounding boldly off the back of their world anthem for International Women’s Day
2017, LA based band, The Longing return with their new single, ’40 Days’ released
on 16 June, ahead of their forthcoming album of all-original songs planned this
autumn. ’40 Days’ is a gritty bitter-sweet progressive-rock track which brandishes
the pain of heartbreak defiantly on the tip of its powerful musical sword. With
previous singles scooping countless radio airplay in the UK and 18 countries
worldwide, plus UK Record of the Week, as well as numerous TV and movie slots
including MTV, The Cannes Film Festival and a score for William Shakespeare’s The
Tempest, there’s no doubt that The Longing are stamping an indelible print into the
prog/rock music scene.
’40 Days’ is a melodic tale of ‘missing’….the heartbreak, bewilderment and confusion
caused when love mysteriously walks out the door and never returns; and those
countless days watching and waiting for a hopeful reunion. Thousands of us
experience the ‘missing’ of a loved one every year, not knowing whether they’ve
walked away or been taken, equally as confused whether to search or leave alone.
’40 Days’ catapults the listener into the unsettled tormented minds of those left
behind. Its message is powerful and potent as Laura Bradley’s vocals expose the
heart-wrenching pain of loss, coupled with the delicate gentleness of her voice as
she carefully coaxes her loved one back. ’40 Days’ sets the tone and delivers the
feeling of ‘missing’, before Bradley’s crystalline vocals unfold expertly crafted lyrics which add the colour to the canvass of trouble sketched out boldly by the beat. This
track encapsulates emotion within a raw, gritty prog/rock tale of angst.
Beautifully distressed and heart-wrenchingly raw, ’40 Days’ is a work of sheer
prog/rock musical artistry!
The single, ’40 Days’ is released on Filthy Princess Records on 16 June
“How Do You Know?”
Pounding boldly off the back of their world anthem for International Women’s Day
2017, LA based band, The Longing return with their new single, ‘How Do You Know’
released on 16 June, ahead of their forthcoming album of all-original songs planned
this autumn. ‘How Do You Know’ is a gritty bitter-sweet progressive-rock track which
brandishes the pain of heartbreak defiantly on the tip of its powerful musical sword.
With previous singles scooping countless radio airplay in the UK and 18 countries
worldwide, plus UK Record of the Week, as well as numerous TV and movie slots
including MTV, The Cannes Film Festival and a score for William Shakespeare’s The
Tempest, there’s no doubt that The Longing are stamping an indelible print into the
prog/rock music scene.
‘How Do You Know’ begs the question of knowing when to stop, give up and walk
away. The track sets the scene of a heartbreak, but the sentiment behind the words
apply to any area of our lives. From the outset, troubled, tumbling drum beats
catapult the listener into an unsettled juxtaposition of torment; powerful and potent,
yet somehow mapping out a confused inner struggle. ‘How Do You Know’ sets the
tone and delivers the feeling before the crystalline vocals of Laura Bradley unfold
expertly crafted lyrics which add the colour to the canvass of trouble sketched out
boldly by the beat. After the panic, comes a still numbness, as if the answer we’ve
been fighting for has been staring us in the face all the time – how do we know when
it’s the end? ‘How Do You Know’ encapsulates that emotion within a raw, gritty
prog/rock tale of angst.
Beautifully distressed and heart-wrenchingly raw, ‘How Do You Know’ is a work of
sheer prog/rock musical artistry!
The single, ‘How Do You Know’ is released on Filthy Princess Records on 16 June
“Come On”
A provocatively gripping slice of unique progressive-metal dives onto UK shores as critically acclaimed LA band announce string of new singles and album
Press Release: January 2017
Spectacularly gritty prog-metal-rock, laced with deliciously crystalline vocals, catapult onto UK shores as the highly acclaimed, The Longing, deliver their captivating new single ‘Come On’, on 24 March; with a fresh new album of all-original songs planned for the Autumn. With previous singles scooping countless radio airplay in the UK and 18 countries worldwide, plus UK Record of the Week, as well as numerous TV and movie slots including MTV, The Cannes Film Festival and a score for William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, The Longing are a force to be reckoned with and their sound for 2017 surpasses anything they’ve delivered musically to date.
Founded by LA based musician/singer/composer, Laura Bradley, The Longing are a 5-piece band who transcend over-simplistic genre categorisation, as they hover gloriously over the void between raw progressive metal and rock. Bradely has the ability to harness the power of her trademark angelic vocals, unleashing her voice with the spectral force of an emotional whiplash – that’s what instantly brings audiences to a standstill. Fuse this with Bradley’s impeccable poetic lyrics and compositional style, which injects a jagged, rhythm-driven musical perspective, and you begin to experience the energy igniting the ever-snowballing fanbase of The Longing. The band consists of guitarists John Huldt and Sean Maier, bassist Michael Wallace and drummer, Tom Plumb – all formally trained, seasoned session and touring musicians with numerous high-profile production and engineering credits.
‘Come On’ is Laura’s first fight with God. A musical battle where instruments are the swords and Laura’s divine high-pitched vocals are the battle cry. Undergoing a massive questioning of faith in the universe following a string of catastrophic events in her personal life and in the world in general, Laura was seriously putting God to task. The song depicts a goading of the greater beings above to ‘come on, bring it on, I want answers for everything you’re throwing at us’. “It’s a fabulous song to sing, such a performance, almost a progressive metal prayer. I feel so good after singing this song,” comments Laura. Laura constantly delves into the depths of emotion, fantastically bringing her listener on a musical journey as she addresses difficult subjects through her lyrics. Every word is a diamond, sparkling in the listeners’ mind and ‘Come On’ is a vibrant wake-up call, which demands everyone takes notice.
‘Come On’ is the first of a string of singles to hit the UK this year, ahead of a fresh new album scheduled for the Autumn. With such a dynamic, unique sound and an infinity of diverse stories woven into the fabric of their explosive melodies, The Longing are a much welcomed asset to the UK music scene. Bring it on!
The single, ‘Come On’ is released on Filthy Princess Records on 24 March
Ravenheart Music: Album Review
THE LONGING…’BLEED’
(FilthyPrincessRecords) Reviewed 28th August 2014
The Longing is an LA-based band who transcend over-simplistic genre categorization. Founding member, Toronto born composer and singer, the lovely Laura Bradley, harnesses the power of her trademark angelic sound and unleashes her voice with the spectral force of an emotional whiplash across this powerful 13-track rock album. Having listened to the opener ‘Wicked’, and already we can here the power of Laura’s voice. And her vocal prowess becomes even more apparent on the melodic and progressive tinged title track complete with violin, totally awesome. ‘Fade’ is another number with a subtle progressive undercurrent together with a massive chorus to boot. The album continues in a similar vein with standouts galore like the massive ‘Lips’ with another huge chorus, and the powerful ballad ‘This Flame’, which exposes Laura’s experience with the Angeles National Forest Station, a fire that burned Bassist/Producer Michael Wallace’s Stonyville Cabin & Studios to the ground in 2010. Then we have ‘Cool Dark Slip’ which opens with Laura Bradley’s haunting solo piano before exploding into an urgency of hard-driven guitars. I could name other highlights here like the track ‘Words’ as another goodie, but in my opinion, every track is a highlight to my ears, and if you want my honest point of view, we could be looking at the next big thing on the Rock Music scene. We have massive lyrically emotional songs, an awesome and very talented singer, hi octane and powerful hooks and a band totally committed to the cause. The Longing’s website is at www.thelonging.com/ where you can also view the video to the title track ‘Bleed’. This record is well recommend when it gets released…9.5/10 (Dave)
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