rachel-alice’s musical odyssey takes flight with ‘Runaway’, a soul-stirring single that marks the dawn of a new chapter in her artistic journey.
Songwriter Rachel Alice presents the beginning of a new stage in her musical career with Runaway, her new single.
Sedately, Rachel meanders through her memories, inviting us to join her. Tinged with an English accent, Rachel has crafted a gently painful track, in which the pain suffered is precisely what makes it so consuming.
Reminiscent of Billie Eilish and her Ocean Eyes days, Rachel’s storytelling is personal and specific, yet leaves room for us to place our own interpretations directly on top of hers.
Her voice is tame and beautiful, capable and restrained. It’s comfortable, like someone we’ve heard before, though full of a new and fascinating depth. There’s a hint of Gabrielle Aplin, though the production feels remarkably modern.
It’s an intimate display, a door ajar into the room where Rachel’s emotions live.
A standout lyric, you know me better than I know you, soaks in with a sharp delicacy. Runaway feels like a renouncing of desire, all the while making that same desire clear for all to see.
A last attempt at exploring the possibilities that were left behind once before. In some ways there is hope, but Runaway feels more like a painful reminiscence on the route to closure.
It’s a sound defining track – a hallmark for what Rachel can and will do. There is something special about this release, something so raw and relatable. Maybe it’s the cover artwork, but Runaway feels like sitting alone in an empty bathtub while your memories echo off the walls, just daring you to do something about them.
Sparse production, deliberate vocals and vulnerable lyricism that doesn’t feel trite. I’m not fine/ really/take a hike and bite me, Rachel sings, in one of my favourite moments.
Her delivery lacks grit, as if she can’t even bring herself to mean it but has to say it regardless. To say Runaway is beautiful feels obvious, but there is something so apparently alluring about Rachel’s creation that it would feel remiss not to mention it.
The climax of the song is perfectly measured and constructed, not too long or self serving, but just the right amount of unreleased emotion escaping through the surface before calmly simmering back down.
rachel-alice is set to release a four-track EP later this year. Stream Runaway below.
Review by Caitlin Norris
