Single of the week: Gillie – Leaving Alone review

by Philip Moss

Earlier this year, at the height of summer, Welsh songwriter, Gillie, released Open Up, Honey – a three song collection that built upon the one off 2019 single, Clash and Collide, and positioned her as ‘one to watch’. Leading the EP was Winter Girl – a track that saw the songwriter skating on a lake of ice so delicate it was all but ready to crack. Yet now, as winter does begin to envelop, Gillie proves that she’s happy to defy the seasons with a shimmering pop anthem that’s already got us dreaming of next year’s summer months.

With an addictive, looping riff that brings to mind Pulp’s Babies, and has ‘bouncing festival tent’ written all over it, there is an energy here that matches the songwriter’s defiant lyrics – ‘You’re leaving alone – I’m not going anywhere you go.’ And despite initially feeling like it is entering the world six months too soon, Leaving Alone isn’t just an ear grabber, and there is certainly more than enough to bury yourself into. Yes, Gillie has stepped away from the crystalline, folk lo-fisms of her previous releases, but she isn’t leaving us behind – and this ray of sunshine is the perfect companion.

The self released, Leaving Alone, is out now.

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