Gracie Abrams – ‘Risk‘
Ever gotten carried away with a crush? On ‘Risk’, Gracie Abrams is in restless mode, ready to chance it all and leap into a relationship so new that the object of her affections doesn’t actually seem to know about it yet. The loose, melodramatic playfullness of it all suits her, borrowing from the classic acoustic songwriting of Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift to mark out a brighter, more up-tempo era.
Dua Lipa – ‘These Walls‘
Upon early listens, Dua Lipa’s third album is not really the radical Britpop-psych reinvention that she might have hinted at, but that doesn’t mean that there’s not still some neatly-executed fun to be had. These Walls’ is a juicy highlight, blending Disney coming-of-age melodies and ABBA cool-girl key changes to lament the dying embers of a relationship: “If these walls could talk/they’d tell us to break up”.
Fiona Lee – ‘Mother’
Inspired by the likes of Sam Fender and Alanis Morisette, Yorkshire newcomer Fiona Lee is on a mission to inject womanhood and vulnerability back into heartlands-style rock. Her tale of gendered abuse, grief and personal rescue has a high stakes urgency that marks her out as an exciting new storyteller, unafraid to shy away from life’s tricky subjects.
Pip Millett – ‘Husband‘
Continuing the kind of intimately-defiant storytelling that defined her Tell Jimmy EP, Manchester’s Pip Millett returns with ‘Husband’, paying homage to classic soul and R&B. Suspended on gorgeous, deep strings, her vocal carries her through a chorus both sour and sweet: ‘I love it when you say my name…when you hold me/I forgot that I was lonely”.
Lola Young – ‘Fuck‘
Deep in her lower register, Lola Young is about as unbothered as her songtitle would suggest, warning an unfocused lover to ditch the sidechicks, sharpen up their finances and recognise how good they’ve got it. Downtrodden tropical flourishes and squelchy synths keep things suprising, continuing the gloriously unpredictable nature of her straight-talking rise to success.
