People Person unveil a new side of themselves with their upcoming single ‘Frances’, out 21 November

Marking a notable shift from the Manchester band’s earlier, guitar-driven indie-rock, the track leans into a softer, stripped-back palette of piano, acoustic guitar and emotional candour. Produced in-house by drummer Nat Coop, ‘Frances’ finds vocalist Adam Grealish writing from a place of deep self-reflection, confronting the insecurities that fractured a relationship.

The release follows a strong year for the four-piece, who have become a rising name in Manchester’s grassroots scene — including a sold-out Band on the Wall show and the release of their debut EP Going Back With My Friends. To celebrate the single, they headline The Castle Hotel on 24 November. Below, People Person break down the making of ‘Frances’, the personal weight behind it, and what fans can expect next.

Frances’ marks a clear stylistic shift for People Person. What inspired you to explore a softer, more vulnerable sound compared to your previous releases?

Over the summer we had a line-up change and the band became just me and Nat. With that, I found myself writing thinking less about our live show, and opened myself up to being able to slow things down and focus on new instrumentation we'd not really shown too much attention to, like adding the piano and focusing more on the acoustic guitar. I was listening to a lot of Lennon at the time of writing it. I think that carries over a lot.

Adam, you’ve described the song as coming from a moment of rock-bottom self-esteem. What was the emotional process like turning such a personal low into something you were ready to share publicly?

I think pushing myself to be more vulnerable and honest in my writing has made me a lot less afraid of my own expectations. I'm very protective of what I write and I struggle a lot with sharing that with other people, but this has been quite therapeutic; to share something I would typically keep so close to myself. It's still a scary thing knowing it will be out for anyone to come across, but I've never felt more proud and confident in a release.

The track was produced by your drummer, Nat Coop. How did handling the production in-house shape the final sound and atmosphere of ‘Frances’?

We have both been working on music together since we were 16, so Nat knows everything I'm looking for and understands the vision of any song I write really well. We both knew this song had to be a strong mark on the band's progress and switch some things up, and Nat's production really took it to the place I imagined. I think it only could've been Nat at the helm of this track in particular. When I first shared an early demo with him, he loved it and had been wanting to keep it around, whereas I wasn't too keen on it. He developed the track into something we all really love.

People Person have been gaining momentum in Manchester’s grassroots scene, including selling out Band on the Wall. How has your live journey influenced the way you write and release music now?

Our live journey has been ever-changing with members coming and going, but I've found it helps me stay consistently inspired and has kept things fresh, adapting and finding the right people and working things out. We're all pretty happy with the dynamic right now and we're happy exploring new ideas and new inspiration, only this time staying together as one while we do it.

You’re headlining The Castle Hotel to celebrate the release. What can fans expect from the show, especially with ‘Frances’ representing this new side of the band?

We've got a lot of new tracks we've been working on over the past few months to share, a lot of which will be released over the coming months. Frances is the centrepiece of these upcoming releases and I think sums up this future project as a whole. We know a lot more now about pacing our live shows, where certain songs should go in the set. We're all really excited for it.