Having decided to leave the band Pretty Vacant and launch a solo career last year, Daniel Maple has been steadily releasing music firmly rooted in the singer-songwriter tradition.
Working in the studio under the guidance of former Futureheads vocalist and guitarist Barry Hyde, Maple has been shaping a distinctive new sound for himself. It builds on his earlier minimalist recordings but continues without a full band setup.
His latest release, ‘Scariest Thoughts’, is a stripped-back and haunting track built around a gently circling acoustic guitar pattern and double-tracked vocals. There are no drums or bass, only the occasional sustained piano note marking slow harmonic shifts.
The song explores the fears Maple carried in his youth, with murmured vocals drifting in and out of focus, occasionally becoming almost completely inaudible.
Lasting just two minutes and forty-five seconds, ‘Scariest Thoughts’ feels less like a conventional song and more like a mood piece. Soft ambient atmospherics emerge as the track closes on the repeated phrase ‘Scariest Thoughts’, building tension before fading in an eerie reprise.
‘Scariest Thoughts’ is available now on all major streaming platforms.
