Caitlin Mae’s ‘Tunnel Vision’ – Out Tomorrow

Fresh from winning Song of the Year at the ARC awards for ‘Take My Demons’, Welsh singer-songwriter Caitlin Mae releases her brand-new single ‘Tunnel Vision’. It posits much of the same heady mixture of attitude and vulnerability as her prize-winning track whilst conveying a strength and confidence that were only just emerging in the former. The two sets of piano notes that make up the intro speak directly to this sense of self-assurance, the song proceeding with a ballad-like quality that takes the form of light country-rock. There are echoes of Charlotte Young in its punkish mood but with vocals that are highly-strained to reflect the push-and-pull of a rebel heart. The lines “a part of me thinks you’ll come back/ but I know way better than that” are an example of the contradictions in human emotion that Caitlin manages to express once more with such a deft simplicity, having already done so on her debut EP. She can only be speaking from a place of deep self-reflection, and though one can hear the pain of the past in her experience, the listener also benefits from the wisdom that she has gleaned from it. It makes ‘Tunnel Vision’ relatable as a result, as well as tantalising as we await with yet more excitement for her next EP.

Review by Gareth Williams (twitter.com/lostinbluejazz1)