A Douglas singer-songwriter has just released his second album after making the most of his time in lockdown.

Forrest Beard’s ’An April Sunday Pt. 1’ is the 11-track follow up to ’Here & Now’ which was released in late October.

It continues a busy few months for the 20-year-old who only released his first solo single, Everything You Do, in the autumn.

Talking about his latest release, the former Ballakermeen student said: ’The new album has been described as heart-felt and nostalgic. The string arrangements throughout seem to give it an emotional feel, with the occasional catchy pop song to break it up.

’I’d say it is an upgrade of my first album. It has similar themes and sounds, but it seems to flow a lot better and definitely feels a lot more meaningful.’

Forrest, who lists the Beatles, ABBA, Ed Sheeran and the Smiths in his eclectic range of influences, says recording during a pandemic has been tough: ’Recording in lockdown has been a bit of a challenge, as I’ve had no choice but to play all the instruments myself. It does, however, allow me to take as much time as I need to get it right and, along with my producer Hez, we’ve been able to get just the sound we wanted.’

Most of the recording of the album has been done in an annex in his parents’ garden and Forrest’s sister Lizzie was even roped in to provide vocals on one of the tracks.

Forrest admits it is now perhaps his stand-out track on the record: ’My particular favourite is probably "Come Home".

’I really enjoyed working with my sister to record this and our voices work quite nicely together.’

Forrest continues to put the hours in and he is already planning his next album release, An April Sunday Pt. II: ’The next album is already well underway and I’m pretty excited for it.

’It definitely moves away from the slower, string-based songs and moves more towards the more upbeat guitar-based tunes.’

The young musician also has another project in the offing, adding: ’I’m hoping to set up a service that can help other artists in their bid to get their music out there this summer. It will help show people what they are able to do with their song without needing a big production company or record label.’

l An April Sunday Pt. I can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Apple Music, iTunes, and Soundcloud as well any other smaller music streaming platforms.

CDs can be purchased by getting in touch through Instagram @forrestbeardmusic or by emailing [email protected]