On her debut single Lovers, Grace Fuller revels in the joys and sorrows of an elusive relationship.
Grace Fuller has explored the nuances of romance on Lovers, a guitar-led ballad that serves as the singer-songwriter’s debut single.
Adorned in the warmth of acoustic strums, the track opens with subtle hi-hats and sparse instrumentation, rightfully allowing Fuller’s vocals to take centre stage.
Delicate and commanding in equal measure, Fuller’s eclectic range stretches from the angsty grumbles of Olivia Rodrigo to the angelic harmonies of Joni Mitchell.
Those are some pretty big shoes to fill, but Fuller pulls off the feat while also imbuing a more frank tone that heightens the intimacy. Here, Fuller delivers certain lines with a talky timbre, as if she’s simply reciting the pages of her own diary.
There’s an infectious simplicity to Lovers, which forgoes flashy production in favour of personal lyricism and the effortless beauty of glittery guitar.
For an artist like Fuller, the vocals are instruments unto themselves, and she further enriches them with layered and textural melodies.
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With a brisk runtime under three minutes, Lovers breezes by with the energy of a summertime daydream, before offering some punchier elements on the chorus.
What begins as a blissful ditty later becomes something more anthemic, as Fuller sings alongside catchy applauding percussion and strident guitars, matching the noisier moments with powerhouse delivery.
With such pared back production, Fuller is able to spotlight the command of her pen. Mustering the vulnerability of her lyricist contemporaries like SZA, Lovers sees Fuller bare her soul by reflecting on “all the secrets about me.”
While love has long been a muse for singer-songwriters, Fuller’s take on the topic is one of unique bittersweetness. She laments a missed romantic connection while also holding space for her ex’s misdeeds.
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This exploration of the grey areas of love makes Lovers feel like a more realistic translation of broken relationships. “You could’ve been one of my lovers,” Fuller pines on the track’s earworm of a hook. “Now you’re just one of the others.”
“I wrote Lovers one evening after stumbling upon a note in my phone from years ago,” Fuller explained in a press statement. “It simply said, ‘we could’ve been, but we’ll never be.’”
It’s the kind of diaristic storytelling you’d expect from an artist with decades in the game, but Lovers is especially impressive given that it marks Fuller’s first-ever single.
Lovers contributes to what feels like a breakout moment for Fuller, who has performed sets at the Women’s T20 Cricket and Oktoberfest in the Domain.
The Sydney-based singer has plans to release more material soon, but in the meantime, you can get swept up in the sheer loveliness of her new single Lovers below.
