Dropping the act can be harder than playing the part. Edison makes that decision the subject of ‘Spread My Wings‘. The pop single addresses a turning point and the choice of honesty.

Behind the name is London-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mike Evans. Here, piano, strings and stacked harmonies surround a personal concern: how to stop hiding and live more openly.

Silverstar Records released the single on September 23, and it is out now.

The single draws on a pop vocabulary with strong 1970s associations, but its central concern does not depend on a particular decade. Self-reflection gives that older vocabulary a present-tense purpose.

The appeal is not simply the familiarity of piano and strings. It is the meeting of an expansive pop setting with a decision that begins inwardly.

The large-scale writing and the personal subject offer different points of entry into the same song.

Early Beatles and the Beach Boys help place the stacked vocal harmonies. ELO and Supertramp provide further context for EDISON’s taste for big, melodic pop.

These reference points describe a set of interests rather than a list of guest appearances. They also suggest why the project sits comfortably between classical music and indie pop.

Melody leads the discussion, while strings and layered voices give the writing additional dimensions.

Piano-led construction provides a clear centre around which those parts can gather. Meanwhile, stacked harmonies bring several vocal lines into the design rather than leaving everything to one line alone.

This is a useful distinction when approaching the release: vocal arrangement forms part of its identity. The interest lies in how those layers participate in the pop writing, alongside the keyboard and strings.

Olivia Holland arranged the strings, which Chrysler Strings performed. Their credits identify a specific contribution to the release’s classical side.

Across Edison’s work, strings help drive the songs instead of serving as added decoration. That makes their function especially relevant here.

The question is not simply how lavish the instrumentation appears, but what the string writing contributes to the shape of the song.

‘Spread My Wings’ comes as a full band recording, a stripped-back piano-and-vocal version and a standalone string arrangement. Each offers a different focus without requiring a different song.

The full band format presents the larger setting. However, the piano-and-vocal version concentrates attention on the singer and keyboard, while the separate strings let Holland’s arrangement occupy its own space.

The release therefore offers several routes into the composition.

That format has particular relevance to a song about openness. Reducing the number of elements around a composition can invite closer attention to its central parts.

Here, the piano-and-vocal option provides that smaller setting alongside the full recording. A song about hiding less also arrives in a form with fewer components, offering an apt parallel to its subject.

The point is to approach one composition through different settings, rather than simply make those settings compete with one another.

The title suggests outward movement, but the song’s concern places the decisive action within the self. Honesty becomes something to practise rather than simply admire.

In that sense, the image of spreading wings works as a way of thinking about personal freedom. It need not require a dramatic departure.

The turning point can begin with changing how much of oneself remains concealed.

There is a small theatrical connection here. Playing a role involves deciding what an audience gets to see; leaving the role raises a different question about visibility.

A song about living openly invites that question beyond the stage. The role may be familiar even when the effort of maintaining it has become uncomfortable.

That gives listeners room to recognise the tension between presentation and honesty in their own circumstances.

Evans grew up in Largs on Scotland’s west coast and now works from London. He previously belonged to Citizens!, associated with Kitsuné, and his background also includes Official Secrets Act, associated with One Little Independent.

Citizens!’s debut album had Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos as producer. Later support-drummer work connected Evans with Franz Ferdinand, Alpines, Sasami and Shock Machine.

Edison gives that broader working history an individual songwriting identity.

For fans of ELO, Supertramp or the Beach Boys, the pop reference points offer a familiar invitation. Vampire Weekend listeners may also find a reason to approach this classical and indie pop crossover.

Yet the three versions encourage attention beyond the initial association. Start with the full band setting, then follow the piano and strings separately.

The next question belongs to the listener: which perspective brings the song’s decision to live honestly closest to home?