23-year-old singer-songwriter Harvey Brittain debuted my heart keeps score, his first full-length project via Slumbo Labs, on June 27.
Brittain hails from North England, where he began playing piano at the tender age of four, writing and producing his own music by the time he was 10. He struggled with reading music as a child, but that never stopped him from learning complex melodies by ear. At 15, the budding artist was scouted for hit talent show The X Factor. After performing at Wembley Arena and the London Palladium, Brittain ultimately declined the full run of the show. Still, he followed the sage advice of former Take That singer Robbie Williams: “Go to uni, get hammered, live a little, and write about real shit.”
When Brittain was 18, he earned a half scholarship to Berklee College of Music. Lee Child, creator of hit series Jack Reacher, offered to sponsor the other half of the Berklee hopeful’s education after hearing his demos. After he moved to the U.S., he found himself in a chance meeting with Jake Ottmann, head of Slumbo Labs, and signed to the label in 2024. Since then, Brittain has continued growing a loyal fanbase on social media, releasing new music every six weeks, all leading up to this 8-track mixtape, my heart keeps score.
The project’s focus track, “obsessed,” is a charming, up-tempo, friends-to-lovers anthem, featuring very dynamically rich production, catchy melodies, and an endearing story. Brittain shared a bit of the song’s background in a statement, explaining:
“‘obsessed’ came out of this messy, kind-of-wrong situationship that started with the whole “we’re just friends,” and ended with a relationship and me fully spiraling… It felt intense and kind of doomed from the start, and I wanted the production to match that energy.
Brittain’s candid lyrics and rich vocals add a certain level of intimacy to “obsessed,” and he does an excellent job of telling the story through the arrangement itself. You can almost feel the tension in the first hook where he sings, “and when I look at you, look at you / wearing nothing but your YSL perfume / you got me doing things I never do, never do / every second I’m alone with you, with you.” Finally, he gives in to the pressure, closing the powerful chorus with, “they say you’ll leave me a wreck / but f*ck it, now I’m obsessed.”
“obsessed” is available to stream wherever you listen to music.
Keep up with Harvey Brittain: YouTube // X // TikTok // Spotify // Instagram
