Artist You Gotta Know: Andrew Belle — Tape and Glue Magazine

Andrew Belle will always hold a special place in my heart. I discovered his music my freshman year of high school and he's been one of my favorites ever since, (ok so I'm only 21 and this wasn't THAT long ago, but still, he's amazing and magical). In high school, I was the "weird" kid who listened to singer-songwriters and spent my time diving deeper into the lyrics of my favorite songs and using music to pull me through the darkest parts of my depression (TBH, still haven't left this phase, probably never will, hence my need to put all of this on the internet). Andrew Belle's music played, and still has, a MASSIVE role in getting me through it even now. If you haven't heard of him, first of all, where have you been, second, here's why you should get to know him:

Starting from the beginning, the first EP I ever heard of Andrew's, All Those Pretty Lights, was good enough that it was all I listened to for longer than I'd like to admit. Especially with my generation, being bombarded with new music every day because of streaming sites like Pandora and Spotify, finding a new favorite is easy, sticking with them is the hard part. For me to still be listening to this EP 8 years later is a huge testament to Andrew's artistry. My favorite track (it's still so hard to pick), "Signs Of Life" is so hauntingly beautiful, made even more so by the sadness that just drips through every last bit of his lyrics and a composition that highlights just how talented he is vocally.

Then came "In My Veins", the song you might know because it's been featured on every TV show ever. I remember all my friends in high school talking about "the saddest song they've ever heard" on Grey's Anatomy and asking me "Hey, have you ever heard of this guy, Andrew Belle?" like he wasn't the guy I was telling them about for like, a year.

He's even said it himself, he writes sad music, but it's so good that you either don't notice, or take it as a realization that you are not alone in whatever you're going through. It was wild to me then that someone I had never met, that lived hundreds of miles away could perfectly convey everything that I was feeling.

Moving on to his first album, The Ladder, basically a singer-songwriter fans' dream. Seriously, y'all I don't even know if I can adequately describe how much I love this album. This record was so outstandingly different than anything released at the time, and still continues to stand out amongst the others in the genre. His lyrics are insightful and thought provoking, drawing upon personal experience while still being completely relatable. It's rare for a first album to lack a single song that is subpar, but every song on The Ladder is a perfect display of not only Andrew's INSANE writing ability, but his voice that could easily compete with bigger artists like The Fray, or even John Mayer and Ed Sheeran.

His second album, Blackbear, is the antithesis of the "Sophomore Slump". If anything, his music showed immense growth. This album featured more of a "poppy" type sound with more synth beats and keyboard (basically 2016 Marissa's dream situation), but still maintained the emotion and lyrical content of The Ladder. As impossible as it seems, this album was even more enchanting than the first. He definitely changed his style, but it felt like a natural progression rather than an identity crisis.

Now we've arrived at his latest single Dive Deep, and by now I hope you've already started downloading his entire body of work. Y'all. This is by far my new favorite song right now. It's been a few years since we've seen something new from Andrew so it's not an exaggeration when I say I LOST MY SHIT WHEN HE ANNOUNCED THIS RELEASE. Not only is it a JAM, but the lyrics are everything you'd expect from him. Currently, I'm jamming this song every morning on my drive to work, and 10/10 would recommend because in addition to being everything that is perfect and beautiful and wonderful about Andrew Belle, it also has made traffic suck less because you're too busy singing along to realize that Pamela in her Prius just cut you off (WINNING).

TL;DR- Andrew Belle is incredible and everyone should be listening to him.

Also, he told me on twitter (which put me into cardiac arrest, like actual Andrew Belle has seen my twitter) that you can go to his merch store and ask for a signed copy of his albums so yeah, ACTUAL ANGEL ANDREW BELLE EVERYONE. I can't wait to (once I have $20..... poor kid probs) get my hands on a signed copy of The Ladder and All Those Pretty Lights.

Some songs to get you started:

- Signs of Life

- The Ladder

-All Those Pretty Lights

-I'll Be Your Breeze

-Pieces

-Dive Deep (DUH)

Also, check out my super advanced website-ing skills, now featuring Soundcloud playlists cause that's something you can check out too!

---------- Andrew, if you ever read this, please go on tour, and make Austin a stop, cause its been 8 years too long---------------