The new single ‘Are You Ready’ from rising star Fletcher Kent is a yearning and nuanced delight that highlights his incredible vocals as well as songwriting skills. Raw and immersive, his voice is naked and to the fore over the acoustic guitar arpeggio, and yet the instrumentation provides a compelling force with horns delicately framing the vocals, adding an euphoric blast.
The song is about the process of maturing and growth and a sense of anxiety, defiance and resilience:
Well I’m a push of a button
From just blowing up the ride
If I’m not running
I’m just waiting to collide
But every step that I take now
Oh I’ll take and take one more
Till I’m high upon that rock
Hear my mother fucking roar
As I sing
And yet the title is not framed as a question, it’s a declarative statement. Kent says:
Are You Ready’ is really a conversation I was having with myself—asking whether I felt prepared to embrace adulthood. There’s a defining shift that happens as a young adult when you realise: after years of leaning on external support like family and school, it’s now you alone steering the ship. It’s a moment of reckoning, accepting responsibility for your life and where it’s headed.
The song shows incredibly mature writing and Kent cuts an enigmatic presence in the accompanying video clip:
Here is definitely a prodigious talent. You can download and stream ‘Are You Ready’ here.
Kent can be seen at his newly announced debut Melbourne performance as part of Live Nation’s ‘Ones To Watch’ on Thursday, 13 February at The Gasometer. ‘Ones To Watch’ series has already launched the careers of artists like Forest Claudette, Teenage Joans, Carla Wehbe, and East AV3 at epic events across the country.
Fletcher also has his final residency show at The Royal in Bondi this Sunday, 2 February, or catch him at Summer Night Sounds in Maitland on 8 February.
Feature Photograph: Caity Krone
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