Storytelling lies at the very heart of vocalist and songwriter Nishla Smith's music making, and since the release of her critically lauded Whirlwind debut, Friends with Monsters, the evolving circumstances of her own life have provided the materials for the stories that lie at the heart of this new collection. it's getting late, you'd better go home was written during a period of emotional turmoil, as Nishla confronted a series of crossroads in her life, not least whether to stay in her adopted UK home or return to her native Australia. From these deeply personal concerns, the stories expand outwards to address universal themes of belonging and of absence, of closeness and separation, of yearning ambition and the simple joys of the quotidian. These extra resonances inspired Nishla to expand her sonic palette, deepening the timbral possibilities with layers of vocals and subtle electronica, and surrounding herself with a hand-picked group of some of the UK's most empathetic and adventurous musicians. The songs are expanded and supported by Tom Harris' subtle, sensitive piano, embellished by the saxophones of Xhosa Cole and Harben Kay and the trumpets of Aaron Wood and Charlotte Keeffe and grounded by the superlative rhythm team of Misha Mullov-Abbado and drummers Sarah Heneghan and Kai Chareunsy. At the centre of everything is Nishla's remarkable voice, always poised and in control, but equally capable of revealing intimacy and powerful emotional charge. Working closely with producer Chris Hyson, Nishla Smith has created an immersive sound-world that showcases but never distracts from the strength of the compositions and the hypnotic charisma of her voice.