Charles Watson previews new solo album with third single "Beauty Contest"

"Beauty Contest" will feature on Watson's second solo album alongside previous singles "Figure Skater" and "Afghan Hound".

Watson says of the release, "During the spring of 2020 I was tirelessly walking the streets of north-east London trying to get my one-year-old daughter to sleep. Given what was happening I decided music wasn’t the thing to ease my anxiety about the future. A friend had recommended I listen to "Money" by Martin Amis. I managed to listen to the first third in a oner. Jesus. It was so full on I never went back. "Beauty Contest" is a kind of an approximation of the central character (of the first third). Bit gross…very gross actually. Pumped up, paranoid and ready to fly Concorde. Different time. Have you read it? How's it end?"

""Beauty Contest" was one of those songs where I just really loved how the demo sounded…classic," Watson continues. "So, it's a mix of drums/bass/keys/guitars from Soup Studios with band and then a load of shonky guitars from a while ago at my studio. I tried to change them…I really did. I feel like for years I’ve been in sessions where we’ve tried to re captured the demo and make it better but sometimes it’s really hard to pinpoint why demos feel right and even harder to say…you know what I’m releasing the dusty, loose version. There’s possibly something about being totally unobserved when I’m demoing that I like. I’m not a natural performer and being on my own to figure stuff out seems to be the best way for me. YES is first record I’ve made where I’ve had my own studio while writing and it’s made a big difference to how I’ve approached recording. I’ve been able to merge the studio sessions with the band and my own demos. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t but I’m getting closer to how it sounds in my head."

YES will follow Watson's 2018 debut solo record Now That I'm A River.