New Music: Livia Drew – Poking Holes

With Poking Holes, singer-songwriter Livia Drew issues a personal and dramatic calling card for her debut album.

Produced by Brian Eichelberger, Poking Holes sees Drew occupy similar musical and lyrical terrain to artists like Ane Brun and Agnes Obel. The vocals are its emotional centre, even when the arrangement is akin to a tempest, fuelled by doomed gothic romance, and Drew is a match for them. Equally, when the temperament of the song shifts to something quieter and more fragile, so do the vocals.

They initially fly free, even if wounded, but are introspective and full of pain as the song reaches its dénouement, yet still unbowed. It’s a fitting performance and orchestration for a song that was, says the artist, written about “the disorienting shift into emotional disappearance inside an all-consuming relationship, where love erases identity and leaves you like a ghost in your own body.”

Get all the latest album news by connecting with Livia Drew on her Instagram and Facebook socials. Poking Holes can also be streamed on Apple Music and Spotify.

Header image by vuhlune