Lungs is the debut single by Freyja Elsy, a singer songwriter and composer from Cardiff, who has collaborated with Blue Amber and members of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.*
This is an introspective, but inventive, look at the end of a relationship - I love its use of very real, very intimate voice recordings which are interspersed around the lyrics she sings as she describes coping with letting someone go - that fear, sadness, regret.
It's raw and uncompromising - you feel like you are a friend she is confiding in as she readies herself for the anticipated fallout of the breakup. Remembering the good times, but facing the inevitable end. The voicemails sound so genuine and heartfelt. It's a little harrowing; I genuinely can't think of another song that's shared something so real. Richey Manic carved 4 REAL into his arm - Freyja lets you eavesdrop into her most personal moments. It's not so bloody, but it's nearly as jarring.
“I think I’m struggling with the idea of… don’t… don’t throw away what’s not broken, but at the same time … it’s not okay...anymore? It’s not been okay for a while, and I think it all came out.”
The music rises and subsides, a mix of glitchy synthesisers and rising strings, swelling at the end as she faces the reality that they both know it's over.
Definitely one to watch.
For fans of: The Anchoress, Jane Weaver, This Is The Kit
*Cover image and photo courtesy of Ed Townend. Find out more at https://www.facebook.com/FreyjaElsyMusic or https://www.instagram.com/freyjaelsy/