By Craig Howieson

The past is the receptacle of our pain. It is where sadness and loss linger – a place that if we aren’t careful, if we do not learn to move forward, we can become stuck within. It is why old photographs – irrespective of the faces that beam back at us – can be so heartbreaking. They are reminders of what was and is now gone, or merely of time that can never be recaptured. On her beautiful new single, New Person Old Place,  Nashville-based songwriter Madi Diaz charts the slow process of moving on. She is no stranger to dwelling on days gone by ‘I used to go shopping for pain go through pictures it’s all I had’ but set against the slow, simple march of subtle drums and acoustic guitar is a steadfast resilience. The track’s minimal and plaintive Americana coupled with Diaz’s repetitive incantations hold a hardened purpose.

It is hard to leave the past behind. Regardless of how long and hard you agonise over it, it cannot be altered, but on New Person Old Place, Diaz learns that the secret may lie in the small changes that must be made to oneself in order to walk unburdened into the future. There’s a reason your eyes are on the front of your head; they’re for looking forward.