Undertow by Ruby Wheeler

I've been excited to share Ruby Wheeler's fourth single with you. Not least because she's based in York. Not only is she of Yorkshire (like me, or so I thought) but the very capital of Yorkshire as it lives and breathes. My appreciation sadly tipped over into jealousy when she told me she was the local support act for the one and only Texan witch, Kitty Coen, when she stopped by FortyFive Vinyl Cafe on her debut UK tour this spring.

Today's release, Undertow, contains a wonderful story about a remote diner and motel that I am pleased to tell you evoked fond memories of Netflix's Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen.

Are you running from something I don't wanna know?
Are you searching for something to call your own?
Do you have nowhere else to go?
Are you giving yourself to the undertow?

Ruby might be telling us her story but she also leaves much unsaid, allowing us to fill certain gaps in our own way. Who is the you in this story? I can confirm that Ruby was inspired to write this song after a spooky night in a one-horse town in Canada. But this does not necessarily mean everything in it is real, or indeed that the main character is Ruby herself.

Ruby describes her intended audience as 'modern outlaws and dreamers' and this song feels like old-world traditional country, although she's not giving Margo Price. For a moment I remembered All About Eve. Perhaps this one is more Patsy Cline, a star I have been reading about as it seems like she inspired just about everyone I have spent the last year documenting, even though she died painfully young. Truly the Amy Winehouse of her time.

This is a dreamy, atmospheric track that was a welcome dose of serenity in a hectic week. Ruby's voice really cuts through. I reminded myself she is from Yorkshire and not York in Pennsylvania or Maine. She is forging a strong reputation not only in the north of England but further afield as well. She is even closer to my hometown this weekend with a show in Cottingham at Springfest 2026.

Anyway, as so often in life, it turns out that appearances were deceptive. Ruby said she was based in York, and I just assumed she grew up there. But as for Katrina Cain, who released No Hometown recently, Ruby has had an eventful life. Her parents were from different places: dad from Northern Ireland and a Dutch mum. Ruby was born in the Netherlands and has lived in Devon, Mallorca, the Netherlands again, Suffolk, Norfolk, London, and finally York for the last five years. It sounds like York wins on longevity to me.

I mentioned that this is Ruby's fourth single. I really enjoyed Straight and Narrow, a catchy foot-tapper, and there are two other belters on Bandcamp for immediate listening. I will be watching Ruby Wheeler's year keenly as she is bringing her own flavours and textures to an exploding British Americana scene.

You can stream Undertow here or listen to all of Ruby's tunes on Bandcamp. As you would expect she is also active on Instagram and TikTok.