John Myrtle

In good company with the likes of The Kinks and The La’s…If you’re craving a little dose of sunshine, John Myrtle’s got you covered” So Young Magazine

“Guaranteed to lighten every mood” When The Horn Blows

“Pop that’s wonderfully lost in time” Brooklyn Vegan

Returning with his first new material in 3 years, Birmingham-born, London-based singer/songwriter John Myrtle shares giddying sunshine-folk of new single ‘How Do You Break a Heart?’ ahead of UK tour dates supporting Cut Worms later this month.

Sustaining his distinctive style of blushing melodies and 60s-pop-referencing folk textures - as heard on breakthrough 2021 album Myrtle Soup - ‘How Do You Break…’ represents something of a sonic upgrade. Having hitherto recorded all his material solo to tape in his bedroom, Myrtle was personally invited by acclaimed producer and ex-Foxygen member Jonathan Rado (The Lemon Twigs, Weyes Blood, Father John Misty, Matt Maltese) to record upon hearing his music for the first time. Bolstered too with a mix from Balász Altsach (Ugly, Legss), the result is a 2-minute bitesize gem of instinctive, nostalgic joy representing Myrtle’s most accomplished effort to date.

Offering further insight on the track, the songwriter states: The song was pretty much conceived in the studio. I had these chords which sounded like Burt Bacharach or something and we took it from there! After we got all the instrumentation down, I remember ad-libbing the words on the spot, which I’d never done before, and tried to treat the performance of the vocal like I was an actor on stage - someone crying out for help.”

Born and raised in Birmingham, but relocating to London in his early 20s to immerse himself in the city’s DIY scene, John Myrtle acquired some rudimentary home studio equipment and completely self-recorded his early material - 2019’s Here’s John Myrtle EP, then debut album Myrtle Soup (2021). 

Amidst headline tours across the UK, Myrtle has since enjoyed extensive airplay on BBC Radio 6Music (Marc Riley, Gideon Coe, Radcliffe & Maconie), a live session with the late Janice Long for BBC Radio Wales, plus press backing from So Young, Brooklyn Vegan, The Line Of Best Fit, DIY, Wax Music, When The Horn Blows, Shindig!, Hard of Hearing, Backseat Mafia and Far Out Magazine.

 Touring UK and Europe last year with Kate Bollinger, Myrtle also joined Katy J Pearson for her landmark headline at London’s Electric Ballroom, sharing stages too with the likes of Marina Allen, Boy Azooga and H Hawkline. Heading to a ‘professional’ studio for the first time last year,, ‘How Do You Break A Heart?’ hints at further material to come later in 2024.