Before Breakfast maintain their charming, folk-like appeal with new single Chosen. That was no surprise. If anything, the momentum that followed I Could Be Asleep If It Weren’t for You was an impossible force. To break that down, Before Breakfast would have needed to actively, and thoroughly, demolish their sound. Thankfully they do maintain that charm found in a roaring debut album and build on it tremendously. Hopeful desire makes for a strong reference point on a meditative, cello-scored track which continues on the solace Before Breakfast find in their work. Relatable is such a coy word for how integral the external desires are for just about everyone.
Chosen has no time for shy strokes of fortune despite its core anxieties. Character-building moments will form a personality for years to come. Validation is a necessary response and an expectation rather than a hope. Chosen does well to follow through on that, using its standout cello to drive momentum. Softly spoken and ever confident, Before Breakfast maintains that Sheffield charm with a stunning number. This desire to be something else hits heavy for most, and those listening to Before Breakfast are likely the ones dealing with that doubt, with that disconnect. It is natural and full of fear, but the work here makes it an impressive and calming experience. Representations of the who and what of a person is such an important projection, especially now. Before Breakfast realise that and use Chosen not just as an ample range for their skills but as a welcoming, warm articulation of everyday fear.
There is loathing connected in that approach of connection and selection. At its extremes, the lack of choice is a despising of the self or of others and while Chosen does not have a bad bone or venomous clunk to it, the shimmering folk-like alternate charms still maintain it as an experience. Before Breakfast manage to take that bitterness and that shock of rejection onboard without it poisoning the rest of the intimate and truthful recollections. That is Before Breakfast at their consistent best and Chosen should be no surprise to those that enjoyed I Could Be Asleep If It Weren’t for You. There is still that slight elusiveness to the titles, to the meaning and function, but Chosen fits in as an opportune moment, a reassurance in desperately needed measures.
In simplicity comes truth and in Before Breakfast comes quality. Chosen and its repetition of wanting to be just that are expectedly moving and slot in nicely with the genre the Gina Walters and Lucy Revis duo strive for. Successful production from David Sanderson and an excellent mastering from Katie Tavini give Chosen that integral, final push. Walters and Revis kindle the fire of their next steps as a creative force, and this latest track has all it takes to shift them on. For all their lyrics of disconnect, Before Breakfast maintain such an incredible relationship between their desired impact and what it can do in the folk-pop boom that continues to grow after a few years in the spotlight. Long may that continue, if Chosen is the quality to come from it.
