INTERVIEW: Talkline shares new single “In My Head”

London-based band Talkline is a project built on friendship and shared musical history, blending indie pop with jazz and minimalist textures into something thoroughly original. Formed around the partnership of vocalist Amy Hollingsworth and pianist Will Hobson, the band took shape after a decade-long friendship eventually turned into creative collaboration. The spark between two long-time companions soon expanded into a full outfit, joined by friends and fellow Guildhall School of Music alumni Rory Hudson on double bass, Anmol Mohara on drums and guitarist Harry Mercer.

Together, they’ve created a sound that feels intimate and engaging, carrying the warmth of their shared past alongside a drive to exploring new musical spheres. Their formula of alluring vocal performance and exquisite musicianship has resulted in a charming musical output that’s struck a chord with listeners and firmly planted Talkline on the map of must watch new acts on the rise.

In February 2024, they stepped out as Talkline and unveiled their original sonic vision with their debut single “Song for a Siren.” Quickly followed up by singles two and three, their debut eponymous EP arrived in July last year. Building on that strong introduction, the band is now preparing the release of their upcoming sophomore EP, teasing what’s to come with a pair of singles. Following the release of “Stuck Here” earlier this summer, Talkline have returned with their latest track titled “In My Head,” a song that sees them stretch their sound and venture further into personal and relatable storytelling.

Thematically, “In My Head” takes on the relatable sensation of regret after speaking without thinking, exploring how a single moment can spiral into an overcrowded mess of thoughts. Framed through the lens of an inner monologue, the track balances humour with candour, capturing both the absurdity and the torment of replaying conversations in your head. Recorded at the picturesque Boathouse Studio in Suffolk and produced by Adam Bowers, the single captures a delicate balance between live energy and careful production, with the band recording together as a unit while stacking and overdubbing additional parts.

Opened by the flutter of warm piano notes, Amy’s expressive vocals enter to spin subtly angsty melodic lines before taking on bouncy vocalisations to dance alongside the piano lines. With the roll of drums, the full arrangement of hurried energy, bright chimes and intricate piano work forms a lively sound before floating through passages of slick guitar notes capped by dramatic vocals. Surging with Harry Mercer’s hazy guitar textures and charging percussive energy, the instrumental break injects a haunting aesthetic to the song before Amy takes to the mic for an epic fianle.

It’s a spectacular showcase of Talkline’s jazz-inflected, rock-tinged style of alternative pop, brought to life via their incredible performance panache. With their sophomore EP on the horizon, the new single shows a band continuing to grow into their sound and we can’t wait to see what they’ve got in store for the rest of 2025 and beyond on their thrilling musical adventure.

We caught up with Amy an Will of Talkline to find out more about their musical journey so far, their new single “In My Head” and what they’ve got lined up for the future. Check out our interview with Talkline below.

Hey Talkline, how’s things?

Hey! We’re good thanks, thanks so much for having us (Will and Amy) for this interview!

How did you get together as a band?

Amy: If we really went back to the beginning… 11 years ago, my sister was terrified to attend a music group in Essex by herself, I went along with her… and met Will!
Ever since then, we have remained friends (and studied at the same school for our music degrees)!
Through the years we wrote some music together for fun and were shocked that it wasn’t bad at all.
In 2024 we decided to record the music we had loved writing together… therefore needed to have a band!
It’s been amazing to hear our music grow and evolve as we have.

Which artists do you draw most inspiration from?

Will: Ohh tough one! We love Lucy Rose, Hiatus Kaiyote, Steve Reich, Hohnen Ford, John Martyn and so many more!

How else do you find inspiration for your music?

Amy: Aah that’s a tough one. Honestly, other than being massive MUSIC GEEKS (I’m always annoying Will with music I have been obsessed with).
Not to sound too cliche… but inspiration or an idea happens anywhere, and differently each time.
Even if that’s an ear worm I need to get out of my head, or a meaning behind a song but I haven’t found a melody or lyrics to fit. Or if I am just making something up on the spot with Will, it’s always different. Sometimes our best songs have happened within 30 minutes, and the biggest challenge can be altering it too much and losing the essence or spark of the song we had when the idea was created. I feel lucky that Will is uber talented AND patient with me (HA) and if I’m ever feeling stuck with a musical idea, he always fixes it! Nothing beats writing music together!

What’s been your highlight for the year so far?

Will: 2025’s been an exciting year for us! But for me, spending a few days in the studio recording our second EP has definitely been a highlight! I think we found a great balance of going in knowing what we wanted from the music, but leaving enough room to explore and try out ideas, and it just felt like a really exciting process! Plus it was a good excuse to hang out and make music with some of my favourite people haha!
Oh and also getting a shoutout on the comedy podcast ‘Chatabix’ was a pretty surreal and lovely moment, so that would have to be a highlight too (thanks David Earl!)

What do you love about the London music scene?

Amy: If you find the right places, artists are being supported by London venues every night! (I will watch an intimate/smaller gig over a stadium gig any day!)
Yet even though the scene can feel like a small crowd, you will always find new musicians to support/meet. With so much of the “scene” being online now, it really feels important to support others in person, and have new connections that leave a stronger impression than our professional profiles.

What would you say is the perfect setting for listeners to enjoy your sound?

Will: Live on a gig is definitely my favourite setting! But I’d say there’s a sense of forward momentum in a lot the our music, so maybe on a drive or a run or something would be a good setting too??

How has your own style and sound evolved since you started out?

Amy: Not only are we so lucky to have these incredible musicians play our music (Harry Mercer, Anmol Mohara and Rory Hudson), but our confidence has grown too! We are bolder with arrangements, quirkier with lyrics and push ourselves more. Whether it is the complex piano parts, the vibraphone lines or the mixing, I love that we have a similar “sound” in both E.Ps. Even with our new music where we have grown and dipped into different styles, there is something that still feels/sounds like us.

Who would be your dream artist to collaborate with?

Will: Personally I would love to collaborate with Jon Batiste! As someone with a background in jazz piano, but also making music influenced by lots of other genres, Jon’s someone that inspires me. He has a huge amount of knowledge, plus an infectious energy, and I think he’d be so fun and interesting to work with!

How did you find making your new single “In My Head”?

Will: This song came together really quickly on one of our most productive writing sessions (we wrote almost 4 songs that afternoon!). I was playing the main piano riff and Amy started improvising over the top, and listening back to the voice note from the writing session, I think it’s cool to hear how similar it is to the finished song! I particularly remember Amy getting excited when she came up with the ‘your Granny doesn’t look so happy now’ lyric which helped us find the direction for the track.
Then fast forward a few months and my favourite part of the recording process was getting to hear Harry Mercer recording his guitar solo, it’s exactly the sound we were looking for and really takes the song to another level!

What message did you want to get across with this release?

Amy: This song feels like an acceptance of the chaos we shouldn’t hide!
Everyone can relate to making mistakes and being embarrassed, but this song feels like I’m giving two fingers up to that mortifying feeling and learning to laugh at the situation instead!
It was refreshing and a relief to release my randomness and silly self into the lyrics!

What artist have you been listening to most recently?

Amy: I’ll always mention one of my all times, the 90’s band The Sunday’s.
But a recent listen and deep dive has been Labi Siffre, such beautiful and honest lyrics that don’t feel false. Another songwriter who doesn’t get another credit, and wrote ‘It Must Be Love’! ‘Blue Lady’ has been on repeat and my cup of tea this month. Just always WISH I could play guitar and play it like him!

What’s the main thing you want people to get out of listening to your music?

Amy: I mean firstly that our friends in the band are incredible. But if someone can hum something back or laugh at a lyric, it’s enough for me.
The words are quite silly in this E.P, but only because I’ve accepted the ridiculous things in my head. I’m hoping that’s what makes it more honest and relatable.

What’s been your favourite live performance so far?

Will: Back in April, we played for the JazzLive at the Crypt series in Camberwell. If you don’t know the venue, it’s a staple of the London Jazz Scene, and they often have their own audience that come to all the shows there. It meant we were playing to a sold out crowd who mostly had never heard of us, and there was something exciting about playing to a totally fresh audience! These gigs are also 2 hours long, which pushed us to add to our repertoire with covers and new material. The team are great there, there’s lovely food served at the gigs, and an amazing artist called Hamley Jenkins was there to draw us live as we performed too! Just a great vibe!

Who would be 3 artists to headline your dream festival? And where would it be?

Amy: Ooh tricky question, I absolutely love soul and disco so possibly some artists like kool and the gang, Chic and Chaka Kahn for the good vibes!
If not, The Police, The Cure and Radiohead!
And it would be in a field nearby so I don’t have to travel far!

Do you have any advice for a new artist wanting to follow your footsteps?

Will: Collaborate as much as possible, I learn so much from writing music with Amy, and working with the rest of the band too!

Finally, what do you have lined up for the rest of the year?

Will: Music wise, we’re building up to the release of our second EP, so there are 3 more tunes on their way soon! And we’ll be playing some gigs to celebrate the new music so keep an eye out on our socials for announcements!

Listen to In My Head below