(Yes, I’m from Bristol. Yes, this is biased. No, I won’t apologise.)
There’s something in the water in Bristol — and no, we don’t just mean suspicious pints at Thekla. The city’s been quietly brewing its next big voice, and he goes by Mitch Sanders. After selling out a three-night residency at The Louisiana (which, if you know, you know), Mitch has just dropped his new single ‘Emotion Kicks’, out now via Island Records UK.
For anyone who’s ever had feelings. Ew.
‘Emotion Kicks’ is a slow-burning, big-feeling kind of track. Mitch describes it as a look at toxic relationships and heartbreak, “told from a man’s perspective,” unpacking the way men (himself included) deal with pain and try to keep it together while quietly falling apart.
From bricklaying to heart-slaying
Mitch didn’t stumble out of a music school with a trust fund and a Tumblr following. He literally started singing on building sites, belting out songs between bricks, and word got around. Fast.
That soulful, gravel-laced voice led to collabs with Catherine Marks (boygenius, Foals, Wolf Alice), Declan McKenna, and Flyte.
If Heaven Is Ours was your intro, then Emotion Kicks feels like the next chapter — a little heavier, a little darker, and somehow even more magnetic.
You can stream ‘Emotion Kicks’ now on the usual places (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.).
Bristol, you’ve done it again. Perth might be my home now, but my accent and my taste in sad indie ballads are still West Country-coded, and Mitch Sanders just made both feel very seen.
Stay unruly.
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