An achingly intimate and tenderly turbulent upheaval, “Astronaut” soars with raw passion and desires unfulfilled as Cornish singer/songwriter Bailey Tomkinson dwells in the dark depths of unrequited love.
Stream: “Astronaut” – Bailey Tomkinson
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Heartache is one of those pernicious emotions that ebbs and flows in waves of anguish and unrest, but it has this nasty habit of sticking around long past its welcome. The moment can pass and you might think you’ve moved on from someone, until a swell of painful feelings rises up within you and you’re left drained, exhausted, and in grief once more. So long as they’re in your life, that scar may never fully heal – emotional wounds seldom do, as we experience on a visceral level through Bailey Tomkinson’s latest single. An achingly intimate and tenderly turbulent upheaval, “Astronaut” soars with raw passion and desires unfulfilled as Tomkinson dwells in the dark depths of unrequited love.
Watch him through holes
In the bookshop
I felt like something out of scream
so familiar walked with me to the bus stop
I can’t communicate how I feel
It’s 03:27 and I’m standing on your drive
Do you like these grand gestures?
Eyes are glazed feeling mortified
I ran so fast
Oh I bail every time
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Astronaut,” an astral outpouring from a heavy heart. Bailey Tomkinson’s final single of 2022, out this Friday, December 8th, arrives at the end of an incredibly busy and exciting year for the Cornish singer/songwriter: Beyond releasing the five-track California Fire EP in late May and a slew of singles before that (and one more, the beautiful acoustic ballad “Graceland,” in August), 2022 also saw Tomkinson raising her presence through multiple festivals throughout the UK. In addition, she recently announced her debut US show, to take place at New York City’s Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 1 on December 27 (no cover – more info here).
Beautifully vivid and visceral, “Astronaut” is the perfect way to cap off a year that has seen Tomkinson’s career take off in a measurable, meaningful way. Glistening electric guitars surge and churn around the artist’s evocative voice as she weaves a story of yearning, inner turmoil, distance, and emotional disconnect. She reckons with her fate in an impassioned chorus that serves as the song’s dramatic climax:
I’m an astronaut floating in your space
I am a lost cause
Trying to find it’s way
And I think that I’ll stay right here
In every breath you take
“’Astronaut’ is a song about unrequited love, always lurking on the outside but never having the courage to do anything about it,” Tomkinson tells Atwood Magazine. “I think we’ve all liked someone before and never done anything about it and I was hoping to capture those feelings in this song.”
“I remember liking a boy when I was in school and being so afraid to tell him I liked him that I used to just always hover around him and come home and write songs about him. I think as a writer, old parts of yourself resurface that you might have forgotten, and you incorporate them into your songs without really being aware you’ve done it. I think I’ve definitely done that here with this song.”
“And in a weird way the character Joe from the Netflix show YOU was a bit of a catalyst for the song, especially the line ‘I’m an astronaut floating in your space’. Close enough to touch, but will remain watching and never doing anything with that feeling.”
I feel like I’m lying in the middle of the road
Pulling thorns out of my coat
Will my parachute land
Or was it false hope?
Crying down the river
Oh I Think I might choke
I’m an astronaut floating in your space
I am a lost cause
Trying to find it’s way
And I think that I’ll stay right here
In every breath you take
Oh I’m scared of heaven
And I’m scared of your mouth
That’s why I’m always sad
If your lips taste like something else
Then I’ll forever be In hell
Immersive, eruptive, and unapologetically intense, “Astronaut” is as catchy as it is cleansing.
Bailey Tomkinson is closing out the year on an undeniable high with this remarkable soul-stirring confessional of a song, slowly coming to terms with her heartache and leaving it all on the field for listeners to hear and feel deep down inside.
Stream “Astronaut” exclusively on Atwood Magazine, and be sure to come out and support Tomkinson in New York City at her debut US show on December 27th!
I’m an astronaut floating in your space
I am a lost cause
Trying to find it’s way
And I think that I’ll stay right here
In every breath you take
(Don’t tell me no or I’ll always be waiting)
In every breath you take
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:: stream/purchase Astronaut here ::
Stream: “Astronaut” – Bailey Tomkinson
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