They say you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose. That may be so, but you
can grip your friends tightly and never let them go when confronted with heartbreak. I don't see that becoming a common expression, but it is the inspiration for this week's free single.
Foy Vance is an Irishman raised in the American south. Most of his childhood was spent moving throughout the south with his father, picking up musical influences along the way. He returned to Ireland years later and began writing music inspired by the likes of Bob Dylan and Van Morrison. Vance's first album,
Hope, was released in 2007. Since then he has produced and toured with Bonnie Raitt, Ed Sheeran and Snow Patrol, amongst others.
"Closed Hand, Full of Friends" comes to us from Vance's second full album,
Joy of Nothing, released August 27. It's been six years since the last album, but Vance recently signed with Glassnote Music, famous for their work with Mumford & Sons and Phoenix. Vance said in an interview that he considers this his first album, in a way. Like Bob Dylan, who changed styles and genres from album to album, Vance feels his songwriting has reinvented itself over time. The album is a powerful one, riddled with songs about heartbreak and love gone wrong. "Closed Hand, Full of Friends" is an anthemic call to cling to hope and find joy where you can, and is one of the more uplifting tracks on the album.
