It feels strange to hear a song exhuming the joys of summer just as the rains arrive overhead and a chill begins to stand in the air. However, ‘Sacred’, the new single from Alessi’s Ark, the long-running project of songwriter Alessi Laurent-Marke, arrives at the perfect time allowing for the listener to spend cold nights by the record player, dreaming of the summer coming or reflecting on the one just passed. Propelled by a folk-rock stomp not dissimilar from Julia Jacklin, Laurent-Marke flexes her idiosyncratic yet charming vocal over fraught guitars, singing “What a season / hey babe?” Her wants are simple, “I prayed and dreamt of summer / just lying back / hiking, having fun” she sings over bandmate Jason Santos’ soaring synths. The winter implores a longing within all of us, but with ‘Sacred’ to hand, at least we can close our eyes and dream of carefree drives with the windows down, the sun gleaming above us. Bliss.   

‘Sacred’ is out now