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This Was Once Fields(TODO)
Add date: 5.26.2026
Release date: 5.22.2026
Links:
Apple Music
Bandcamp
Facebook
Instagram
Official Website
Spotify
Tidal
TikTok
YouTube
This Was Once Fields is Gently Tender’s first new music since 2023; sonically inspired by the landscapes of the rolling hills and rugged moors of the British countryside, the band’s stirring indie rock sound is built from lush harmonies and pastoral melodies, touching on elements of folk, punk and soul.
Change became such a driving force in the lives of Gently Tender in the years following the release of their Matthew E. White-produced 2022 debut album Take Hold Of Your Promise! that the band’s first record, twelve songs of soulful, anthemic Americana, was also almost their last. The general stresses and strains of existing as a band in 2026 notwithstanding, over the past four years the members of Gently Tender have between them had to navigate some of the highest highs and the lowest lows life can throw at a person: the birth of four babies, a serious illness, a year spent in the ICU, the departure of a band member, two more moving cross-country.
Seeking escape from the city in the relief of the great outdoors, frontman Sam Fryer would head out from the studio to the green belt of North London to simply walk for miles upon miles, often until the last moments of light disappeared into the dusk. “The view of London from afar at nighttime was what really ignited a spark in me. I would reflect on my life and myself as I exist inside the city I’ve lived in for my entire life, that I’ve loved and fallen out of love with over again. The city does weigh on me heavily but it’s not easy to leave a place you’ve loved forever.”
Once the band finally came together once again to bring these songs to life, they were aptly recorded across all four corners of London with engineer/producer Matt Wiggins, who alongside the band, took on production duties for the project. Fryer shares, “The songs that make up this project represent different chapters, memories, thoughts and reflections on the life I have lived in the city. How I’ve always managed to live here but never felt like I actually belong in such a loud and fast paced nerve-jangling environment. These walks have provided me with a universe of material that I can dive back into when I need to escape, and that’s where this music was born.”
A collective effort since its very inception, Gently Tender opened its arms to musicians Francesca Brierley (multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who also makes music as heka) and Evie Hilyer-Ziegler (with whom Sam had played alongside in folk group Broadside Hacks and brings flourishes of violin and flute) to join former Palma Violets Sam Fryer, Pete Mayhew and Will Doyle, plus guitarist Adam Brown.
“We’re a very emotional band”, Fryer concludes. “When I come to write a song I ask, ‘Does the melody make me want to cry?’” This Was Once Fields arrives as proof that Gently Tender’s uplifting spirit and compelling sincerity can still be found in the darkest times. It’s a love letter to a city that can be frenetic and hostile; a commitment to staying for the good in it, in spite of it all.
Apple Music
Bandcamp
Official Website
Spotify
Tidal
TikTok
YouTube
This Was Once Fields is Gently Tender’s first new music since 2023; sonically inspired by the landscapes of the rolling hills and rugged moors of the British countryside, the band’s stirring indie rock sound is built from lush harmonies and pastoral melodies, touching on elements of folk, punk and soul.
Change became such a driving force in the lives of Gently Tender in the years following the release of their Matthew E. White-produced 2022 debut album Take Hold Of Your Promise! that the band’s first record, twelve songs of soulful, anthemic Americana, was also almost their last. The general stresses and strains of existing as a band in 2026 notwithstanding, over the past four years the members of Gently Tender have between them had to navigate some of the highest highs and the lowest lows life can throw at a person: the birth of four babies, a serious illness, a year spent in the ICU, the departure of a band member, two more moving cross-country.
Seeking escape from the city in the relief of the great outdoors, frontman Sam Fryer would head out from the studio to the green belt of North London to simply walk for miles upon miles, often until the last moments of light disappeared into the dusk. “The view of London from afar at nighttime was what really ignited a spark in me. I would reflect on my life and myself as I exist inside the city I’ve lived in for my entire life, that I’ve loved and fallen out of love with over again. The city does weigh on me heavily but it’s not easy to leave a place you’ve loved forever.”
Once the band finally came together once again to bring these songs to life, they were aptly recorded across all four corners of London with engineer/producer Matt Wiggins, who alongside the band, took on production duties for the project. Fryer shares, “The songs that make up this project represent different chapters, memories, thoughts and reflections on the life I have lived in the city. How I’ve always managed to live here but never felt like I actually belong in such a loud and fast paced nerve-jangling environment. These walks have provided me with a universe of material that I can dive back into when I need to escape, and that’s where this music was born.”
A collective effort since its very inception, Gently Tender opened its arms to musicians Francesca Brierley (multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who also makes music as heka) and Evie Hilyer-Ziegler (with whom Sam had played alongside in folk group Broadside Hacks and brings flourishes of violin and flute) to join former Palma Violets Sam Fryer, Pete Mayhew and Will Doyle, plus guitarist Adam Brown.
“We’re a very emotional band”, Fryer concludes. “When I come to write a song I ask, ‘Does the melody make me want to cry?’” This Was Once Fields arrives as proof that Gently Tender’s uplifting spirit and compelling sincerity can still be found in the darkest times. It’s a love letter to a city that can be frenetic and hostile; a commitment to staying for the good in it, in spite of it all.