North East-based singer-songwriter, Ren Lawton, has spent years traversing the cavernous territory of the music industry. From playing in bands supporting the likes of We Are Scientists, The Subways and The Envy Corps, to finding his own voice, settling on a more intimate folk-inflected style. Now he’s is gearing up for his debut album in 2022 with the release of Love By Night; the first cut from the record.
The project of Conor Owen, he has been performing as ‘Ren Lawton’ since 2016. The moniker was derived from the Confucian virtue ‘Ren’, combining this with his grandmother’s maiden name, ‘Lawton’. The rest as they say, is history. With an impressive array of releases to his name, including single ‘Piece of Your Heart’ which has garnered over 1 million streams on Spotify, Ren Lawton is keen to showcase his stripped back sound to the world.
Love By Night exemplifies Ren Lawton’s earnest style of songwriting. Unfussy and reflective, Love By Night is driven by the cathartic, personal lyricism, which is accented beautifully by Conor’s smooth, heartfelt vocals. Simply strummed guitar provides an extra layer of depth as Conor’s bittersweet subject matter offers a reminder of Irish drinking songs and erstwhile folk ballads. While Love By Night won’t reinvent the wheel, the track illustrates the authenticity to Ren Lawton’s music, no bells, no whistles, just good old fashioned songwriting.
Over the years, Lawton has supported the likes of Old Sea Brigade, Dawn Landes and Dana Gavanski as well as press coverage from the likes of Clash Magazine, Crack Magazine, Thank Folk For That and XS Noize. Love By Night is the first single to be taken from Lawton’s upcoming debut album, due for release in early 2022.
Love By Night is out now.