This past Friday the 18th of July, Message To Bears, the brainchild of Bristol’s Jerome Alexander, has just dropped Tired Eyes, Waking Hearts on Lost Birds Records. Originally from London, Alexander has carved a niche with his mix of ambient, folk, post-rock, and electronic sounds, earning over 200 million streams. He’s played alongside Nils Frahm and Olafur Arnalds, hitting venues like London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, and opened for Beirut and Efterklang at Green Man Festival. His tracks have spun on BBC Radio 6 via Nitin Sawhney, Radio X with John Kennedy, and KEXP, while mags like Stereogum and Teen Vogue have sung his praises. Kicking off with the instant sell-out EP1 in 2007, his work—like Maps and Constants—has landed in Netflix’s Warrior Nun and Life is Strange, rubbing shoulders with Mogwai and Foals.
Tired Eyes, Waking Hearts digs deep, with ‘Capsize’ layering acoustic grit—think strings and piano—over electronic murmurs and choral snippets. The album balances folktronica intimacy with orchestral heft, sketching emotional arcs of resilience and shift. Echoing Ry X and José González, it’s a textured listen that’ll hook anyone into Bon Iver or Novo Amor.
Alexander shared some insight: “‘Tired Eyes, Waking Hearts’ is deeply meaningful to me—its intention is to represent the transition from chaos to peace, including all the difficult moments in-between. The album was recorded entirely in my home studio, blending vintage and analogue equipment with modern technology, utilising samplers, acoustic instruments, micro-tape machines alongside classical instrumentation.” That hands-on approach defines its soulful, authentic edge.
Stream Tired Eyes, Waking Hearts:
Tired Eyes, Waking Hearts Album Tracklist:
1. Turbines Over Oceans
2. Knots Tied in Grass
3. Disquiet
4. Open Lungs
5. Half Light
6. Tired Eyes, Waking Hearts
7. Capsize
8. River Calls
9. Last Wave
10. Awake, Far Away
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