Fresh off a sold-out headline show at Manchester’s Gorilla and a breakthrough 2024 that’s seen him appear on everything from BBC Breakfast to the EA Sports FC25 soundtrack, Alex Spencer returns with a darker, more cinematic statement in Clouded Thinking, a bold step forward for one of the North’s most promising young songwriters.
Where previous tracks shimmered with youthful energy and indie-pop charm, Clouded Thinking leans into a stormier mood. The production is layered and dense, with brooding basslines giving way to glimmering piano that hints at light beyond the darkness. There’s still that signature Spencer spirit, the call to “get away now” and reach for something greater, but this time it’s laced with frustration and longing. He’s not just chasing dreams anymore; he’s wrestling with the fear they might slip away.
Lyrically, the track finds Alex caught in an emotional push-pull, tethered to a place, a memory, maybe even a person, despite knowing it’s holding him back. “The song became about the powerful longing for something just out of reach,” he explains, and you feel that ache in every chorus. The vulnerability is striking, yet never self-indulgent. It’s the kind of songwriting that’s destined to hit hardest in the late hours, headphones on, windows down.
Vocally, Spencer sounds more confident than ever, raspy and raw in places, then tender and controlled when it counts. It’s easy to forget he’s still only 18. You get the sense he’s lived a hundred lifetimes already, weaving in the perspective of someone who’s seen more of the world than most at his age, with childhood stints in India and Thailand subtly informing his worldview.
As he gears up for a packed summer, including TRNSMT’s BBC Introducing stage, Clouded Thinking feels like a timely evolution. It may not hit with the immediacy of Bucket List or Love and Let Go, but it lingers longer. This isn’t just a catchy single; it’s a sign that Alex Spencer is building something deeper.
Escape might be the theme here, but it’s clear Spencer is only heading in one direction: up.
THE FRONT ROW 
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