With 'Waking Up Slow', Aplin seems to be jumping on the bandwagon alongside other pop artists at the moment such as Dua Lipa who are singing about their contradictive mindsets about relationships and we can draw a comparison to Lipa's recent hit 'New Rules'. Aplin sings “You know I’ve never been so lonely on my own, and it shows, ‘cause I don’t see you like I used to, now I’m going back on the things that I know.” Almost laying concrete to the foundation of the complicated thinking of relationships following Aplin’s common style, just like her Song 'Panic Cord' back in 2011 which described the fear of a relationship and how it often became too much.
In 'Avalon', Aplin has not strayed far from her frequent yet original style of making music and songwriting, keeping her airy and whispy sound and accompanying down-beats. One thing that is nice to see on this new EP, however, is Aplin’s ability to continue to easily experiment with a slight change, without making this too obvious to the listener. Her 2011 hit 'Panic Cord' was remixed by DJ Hucci and she seems to have followed a similar style in the song 'Used To Do'.
'Used To Do' uses beautiful imagery of ethereal beauty and angelic themes. Aplin sings “I’ve seen colours, shining from the other side, when they’re close enough, they’re blinding, and they pull you under” reflecting her emotions about the need to have the love from a previous partner back in her life. As mentioned previously, the song is a little more experimental than others shown on her EP, with good bass and a more pop vibe differentiating from her frequent Indie style.
'Stay' is the most whimsical song on the EP with fast crescendos but slow-paced build-ups which releasing meaning about the catch and chase scenario of the relationship in the song and how one half wants to stay, but the other is ready to leave. We see this reflected in the lyrics “All you did was stay, holding onto yesterday, well it’s never coming back again”.
Finally, 'Say Nothing' seems to be the most cheerful sounding tune and really takes me back to the young Gabrielle Aplin we were first introduced to when she started making music. The song sings “are you thinking of me? Are you thinking of me?” and almost has a summery feel to it.
Gabrielle Aplin is heading on later this month and it will be amazing to see the new EP on the road. It is exciting to see Gabrielle Aplin making music again, coming back with new vibes and a fresh look. Go and see her if you have the opportunity; you will not be disappointed.
GABRIELLE APLIN TOUR DATES
19/10 – Glasgow, Oran Mor
20/10 – Birmingham, O2 Academy
22/10 – Cambridge, The Junction
23/10 – Brighton, Concorde 2
24/10 – Bristol, Bristol Trinity
26/10 – London, The Venue
