Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

In times that are the darkest we often forget that eventually the sun must rise, that over the hill that shrouds us in shade, so dawn will come and renew us with hope of another day where illumination may serve us.

All Shall Be Well, a mantra of courage in the face of adversity, faith in humanity to see reason above the selfish, the pain driven, the damage inflictors of life, and whilst pain is in the eye of the beholder, the varying degrees to which we feel the response and the grin of those willing to impose such bruises on the mind or the diseases we have to carry as we bear life in all its extremes, so we should, so we must cling to the four words as much as humanely possible so we can see that new and everlasting dawn.

It is in courage that the listener finds the music of Amy Hopwood as a catalyst, an inspiration to finding that the dawn not only rises, but that the sun will outlast us, that in hope we may pass on to our lived ones that same declaration, a chant of desire, to fight each and every day to stay alive.
Based on two medieval phrases, “All Shall Be Well” and “This Too Shall Pass” by Julian of Norwich and the Sufi Poets of Persia respectively, Ms. Hopwood brings a distinctive sound to the narrative and the astonishing beauty of multi-layered vocals as the haunting tone of the piece pierces the air and the sentiment catches the soul and finds it receptive to the metre and the profound statement.

Grief is a natural part of life, and nobody has the right or the means to dare suggest how we should observe it, nor for how long, it is the same with physical pain, and how we deal with it. The sound of the voice in this song reflects that with honesty, with a sincere undertaking of expression, and Amy Hopwood achieves this charm, with memory, and is a song of exactness throughout.

A great single which defies the expectation of the period of the year, one that does not shy away from talking about the personal rather than the expected glee of want.

Ian D. Hall