As an emotional person who's always looking for music to match, finding a slow acoustic album to go with a melancholy mood is hard.
The albums I try usually have a few songs that don’t sound quite right, and they ruin the “stare out the window and be sad but pensive” type of mood.
A few years ago, I found the perfect artist for my weird mood swings, Lewis Watson. A few weeks ago, I found the prime rainy day album by him: “midnight (acoustic).”
I’ve always found acoustic albums to fit perfectly for those slower days, and Lewis Watson is an artist that elicits the right amount of emotion from me.
That’s probably why I cried in the library while listening to his album.
Watson has 1.5 million listeners on Spotify and counting. He has taken his passion of uploading covers and original songs on YouTube to new heights. In 2014, Watson released his debut album, “The Morning,” after signing a record deal with Warner Bros. Records.
Consequently, 2014 is the year I began listening to Watson’s music and staring out rain-stained windows while drinking large cups of coffee.
He released the album “midnight” in late March, along with its acoustic, emotional twin Sept.15.
The acoustic album has a relaxing feel to it, and mixed with Watson’s beautiful and soft but piercing voice, it creates the best cloudy day atmosphere.
“La song (acoustic version)” is my favorite from both “midnight” and “midnight (acoustic).” It was also released as a demo on Watson’s 2014 “the morning (all of the songs),” and something I always hoped would become more than just a demo.
The emotional song is about a lover who left, and when I first heard it in 2014, it had me missing a lover I never even had. Listening to the song in 2017, it’s less of that and more of me paying attention to his lyrics and the emotion behind his stunning voice.
“Well, I loved you to your veins/So how come I’m alone?” he sings in “la song (acoustic version)” with a slow guitar.
Watson is a talented musician, and every album he releases impresses me. His lyrics and the way his voice flows with his guitar are absolute magic. Watson uses his lyrics and brings the listener into a realm where the most important thing is staying silent to soak up every ounce of his brilliance.
“This love has got me running/And I couldn’t see it hiding in her veins/A hurricane coming/Hidden by a quiet thunder,” Watson sings in “Forever (acoustic version).”
Watson’s “midnight (acoustic)” is a great album for anyone who wants to focus their attention on being present. There are many albums appropriate for doing homework or walking to class, but this album deserves a silent moment. Watson's soft voice in “midnight (acoustic)” deserves and demands the full attention and appreciation of the listener.
There are no artists like Lewis Watson in my mind. So for this week, I’m just going to link the “midnight (acoustic)” and request you take 38 minutes to listen to the 10-song masterpiece.
