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Jan 03, 2024 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Corey Rid

UK singer/songwriter Brad Stank plays with various strains of slow jam R&B, blues, pop, and jazz, inhabiting a persona that is equal parts psychedelic mystic, lounge lizard, and soul singer. His vocals float atop beds of pillowy melodies, transportive grooves, and sultry instrumentation, all carefully shaped into a blend of warm and smokey tones. Later this month, he is set to share his third full-length album, In The Midst of You, due out on January 26th, which he teased last year with a series of new singles.

Today, he’s sharing the fifth and final single from the record, “Cry Baby,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Cry Baby” finds Stank settling into a more moody and twilit effort, colored by dusty keys and simmering sax accents. Touches of jazz, soul, and R&B all mix together in a decadent blur, along with a set of winding verses from London rapper Lord Apex and a smooth, shadowy hook delivered from Stank. Meanwhile, the track’s closing minutes are its richest and most decadent. After the honeyed first half, Stank and Apex take a backseat, letting Gal Go’s sax sprawl outward for an extended jazz outro.

Stank said of the track, “I made this beat inspired by some of my favourite underground rap songs, but kept all the instruments live. It’s moody, romantic, and hypnotic, and features Gal Go once again at the end. Lord Apex is the best rapper in the UK in my opinion, so it was a real pleasure to have him come into the studio to record a couple of verses. I hope the smokers can get lost in this one a little bit. My part lyrically is almost a message to myself again, to the overthinking part of my brain, accepting that things can get a bit heavy sometimes, but reminding myself to keep my head up.”

Check out the song below. In The Midst Of You is due out on January 26th. You can also read Stank’s brief introductory Q&A on the song and record below.

How did the collaboration between you and Lord Apex begin? What was the process of the track coming together?

I’d had the instrumental for a while and thought it’d sound great with Apex on it, he was the first person that came to mind, so we reached out, he came to the studio and laid down some raps.. it was a nice easy process

This song definitely stands out a bit as a change of pace on the LP. What role do you think this song plays in the big picture of the record?

Yeah, it’s maybe one of the moodier songs on there. I wanted it to feel quite isolated and inward, and Gal Go’s sax parts really add to that in the second half. It’s a song that’s maybe more about inward anxieties or paranoias, feeling a bit sorry for yourself. Just a part of the big beautiful tapestry of life baby

In The Midst of You, your third record, will be out later this month. What do you hope listeners take away from the record as a whole?

I hope people can relate to it, or if not, feel it’s a good form of escapism. It’s my most vulnerable lyrically and musically full record yet, so I hope there’s something for everybody in there. And most of all to light a candle and strive to be in the midst of something that you love, or that excites you, or that eases your pain, whatever that may be.