CASSYETTE – ‘WHEN SHE TOLD ME’
Grief is rarely re-lived in music through the prism of the all-encompassing shock of finding out. But Cassyette’s new track reflects on the very moment her mum told her she’d lost her dad, when the world came crashing down around her. “It was the worst moment of my life,” the alt-rock artist said. “I can’t cry anymore / And I can’t catch my breath / There’s no oxygen out here,” she despairs on the thrashing lament, her voice breaking against furious metal drums and industrial guitars.
AURORA – ‘SOME TYPE OF SKIN’
“My god it’s a lot,” Aurora yelps as she grapples with the “muchness” of “not really knowing where the world ends and I begin”. The simmering electro-pop track introduces the Norwegian artist in a quiet, contemplative mood before she expels a huge emotional release – a perfect vessel for anyone who needs to scream and unleash their own build-up.
DEBBIE – ‘IT’S BEEN A WEEK’
Ever since Debbie’s emotive vocals made their mark all over Stormzy’s third album ‘This Is What I Mean’, the rising artist’s solo material has continued to set her up as a star in her own right. ‘It’s Been A Week’ is raw with fresh hurt and finds her stuck in limbo waiting to hear back from a lover who’s “drowning me in your mistakes”, her easy flow and resentful jibes calling back to the spiky attitude of classic noughties R&B.
REMI WOLF – ‘CINDERELLA’
Sometimes you just need to be your own fairy godmother. The US artist’s funky ‘70s-inspired track sees her step into that role to remind her that she’s in control amid the “ups and downs and mood swings and transient lifestyle” she experienced while making her forthcoming second album. “Is there something wrong with the way I’m designed? / Can’t find comfort in anything,” she asks in the bridge, sandwiched between horns, whistles and the general feel-good silliness that’s sometimes necessary to pull someone out of a spiral.
MAGGIE ROGERS – ‘SO SICK OF DREAMING’
Maggie Rogers has already teased that her next album ‘Don’t Forget Me’ will feel like “Sunday afternoon”, “worn in denim” and a “drive in your favourite car”. The latest preview fits the brief in the shape of a breezy guitar-led number that finds the artist reaffirming her self worth after being let down again. “’cause I’m so sick of dreamin‘ / Oh, and I’m all that I’m needin‘,” she declares. But the track highlight comes in a voice note in which she recalls being ditched by a “loser” date who went to a basketball game instead, so she “took the steaks to go and went to meet my friends down the street” (AKA dodged a bullet).
