Amy Macdonald’s Top 10 album ‘The Human Demands’ was released late last year, but its profile remains as strong as ever. Amy has constantly found new ways of shining new light on the record, whether it’s with stripped back acoustic recordings or an in-depth track-by-track introduction to each song. Over six months on, it’s still reaching new audiences - notably with the recent single ‘Statues’, which spent a phenomenal six weeks on Radio 2’s A-list.

Amy continues that engaging run of activity by sharing her new single ‘Bridges’. It’s a new mix which brings a rejuvenated upbeat momentum to a song that has been hailed as one of the album’s strongest moments. Listen HERE. Watch the lyric video HERE.

‘The Human Demands’ is full of evocative lyricism and ‘Bridges’ is no exception. While the album’s themes are usually focused on hope, longing or nostalgia, ‘Bridges’ is instead about having the confidence to stand up for yourself and to speak your mind. Amy channels high energy pop rock in a song that shows no fear in moving onto other opportunities when placed in an awkward situation. Her lyrical prowess also means that the song works on two levels: it could also be interpreted as a barb to a partner whose constant deception and manipulation have wrecked what could’ve been a blossoming romance.

“I will always have an opinion,” says Amy. “Maybe sometimes in my career, I wish I had kept my mouth shut but what would the fun in that be? I think it’s important to say how you feel, especially as a woman in the music industry, where the most powerful roles are still male-dominated. You can find yourself being pushed into scenarios that you’re not comfortable with, and that happened a few times when I was starting out. I found how important it is to not be scared to have an opinion and to stand up for yourself.”

‘Bridges’ is set to extend the album’s profile into the summer before Amy embarks upon a long awaited UK headline tour in the autumn. Her first full scale domestic shows in over two years, the tour will be her first since the release of ‘The Human Demands’ and culminates with a huge homecoming show at Glasgow’s SSE Hydro.

Tickets for the dates, listed below, are available here. All shows feature guest Callum Beattie.

OCTOBER

21st - Reading, Hexagon

22nd - Manchester, Bridgewater Hall

23rd - Stockton, Globe

25th - Ipswich, Regent

26th - London, Roundhouse

DECEMBER

17th - Glasgow, SSE Hydro

Amy started this year by being named as the Independent Venue Week 2021’s official ambassador for Scotland. Her support for the organisation recently continued when she played an exclusive acoustic set at Glasgow’s historic Òran Mór. The full performance includes old favourites and current album highlights ‘Statues’ and ‘The Hudson’, and will be available to stream on Independent Venue Week’s YouTube channel from Thursday, May 13th. A taster of the show can be seen here.

She celebrated the release of ‘The Human Demands’ by playing a special livestream show from the intimate Mildmay Clubin Stoke Newington, London last November. The set debuted a handful of songs from the current album, and was completed by some of her iconic hits such as ‘This Is The Life’ and ‘Mr Rock & Roll’. The show raised over £10,000 for #WeMakeEvents and fans can continue to support the live events sector by donating or buying merch via the movement’s website.

‘The Human Demands’ has already added another 13 million streams to the huge international success that Amy has achieved throughout her career. The size of the stats speak for themselves: she has performed across the world in front of a total of 3.3 million people, accumulated over 200 million Spotify streams, landed four Top 5 albums (including her #1 debut) and sold six million albums. Her landmark hit, ‘This Is The Life’, topped the charts in ten countries. The first release under a new deal with Infectious / BMG, ‘The Human Demands’ has kickstarted another big chapter in Amy’s story.

Author: Andrew Braithwaite

Andrew is the founder and Managing Director of Music Talkers. He's also a keen music enthusiast and plays the guitar.