In August 2022 Gently Tender released their debut album ‘Take Hold Of Your Promise!’, however, one song was left on the drawing board. Claiming that the song ‘didn’t quite feel right with the album’, the band left the song ‘Country Folk’ out of the project, giving it its own spotlight as a lone single over a year after the album was released. With help from guest vocalist Francesca Brierley, Gently Tender return by taking the listener to a new realm of sonic tranquillity. Accompanied by an arrangement of chorus drenched guitars, hypnotic keys and steady drums, both Fryer and Brierley’s voices float on top of the track with ease.

Whilst Gently Tender emerged from the ashes of London based indie band Palma Violets, the sound of the two bands draws little to no comparison. Offering a softer and more reflective project for former Palma Violets members Sam Fryers, Will Doyle and Peter Mayhew (as well as other members, Celia Archer of The Big Moon and guitarist Adam Brown), ‘Country Folk’ and Gently Tender in general, ooze with the optimistic feeling you find at the end of a coming-of-age film. ‘It’s a song about not getting stuck in the past and finding contentment in your present, even if it’s not what you expected’, the band wrote for the announcement of this new single on Instagram, and the lyrical content of the song perfectly aligns with this statement. Through extensive metaphors in the verses, there is a real sense of self-reflection, kindness and compassion in ‘Country Folk’.

After the split of his former band, lead vocalist Fryer turned to the maintenance of his mental health. In an interview with the NME, Fryer claimed to have spent most of his time in the buddhist centre adjacent to his house when Gently Tender formed. The reflection that took place in this centre bleeds into ‘Country Folk’, as Fryer and Brierley come together in the chorus to harmonise the optimistic phrase ‘don’t look behind’, in a way that is reminiscent of The Mamas & the Papas. The way that the two singers urge the listener, or each other, to not look behind, summarises perfectly the feeling of not getting stuck in the past that surrounds this band and its history.

Following a summer on the UK festival circuit, Gently Tender will be embarking on a UK tour this week, stopping off at Hebden Bridge, Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol and London.