Guitarist and vocalist Sarah Howells has been making music for over 20 years, ditching Uni in favour of bombing round the UK on a battered old sofa wedged into the back of a transit van. Raised on 90s grunge and 00s emo early biographies mentioned influences like Deftones and Hole, Tori Amos and Jeff Buckley later shifting to Bon Iver, Cat Power and The National.

In 2016, Bryde emerged. An electric guitar-led solo project described by the Sunday Times as “sensational, feral guitar” which seemed to reflect these influences in a way that previous projects hadn’t.

Early Bryde EPs were produced by the likes of Jolyon Thomas and Bill Ryder Jones and quickly supported by Spotify and tastemakers at Radio. In 2018, Debut album Like an Island saw Bryde nominated for the Welsh Music Prize and gracing the stages of festivals such as Latitude, Boardmasters and Live at Leeds. It was a record about emancipation and learning to exist alone again.

What followed was The Volume of Things, Written and recorded between London, and various friends’ studios in Berlin and produced by Thomas Mitchener. An album about the bombardment of modern life, the avalanche of news, notifications and advice we have access to each day and trying to sift meaning from the white noise. Stand out track Silence gave nods to Bryde’s passion for meditation as a chosen method of sifting.

In 2021 Bryde finally honoured her 14 year old self and covered Tori Amos’s ‘Silent All These Years’. Released in the context of International Women’s Day it had added poignancy. A quietly defiant tribute to women, or indeed anyone who has found their voice in recent times.

“Smartly written, well arranged pop.” Pitchfork

“Bryde's voice, equally stunning and chilling.” NPR

“..hers is a voice that deserves attention in and of its own right” – Consequence of Sound

“a piece of symphonic, drum beating melancholy “ - Born Music

"Bryde invokes the ambience of Warpaint and emotion of Laura Marling.” Dork

“An electrified singer-songwriter with Buckley’s hypnotic, chiming spaciousness.” Total Guitar

“Bryde isn’t afraid to bare her soul.” The Line of Best Fit

“There is so much beauty in Sarah’s voice: the huskiness of Gemma Hayes, lightness of Laura Marling and sensitivity of Jeff Buckley — beauty that is hard to define, which is a big compliment.” - Fresh on the Net

Isabel LaRosa

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