Caitlin Mae - Fiona

Kicking off 2023 with a fabulously dark brooding single is Caitlin Mae, pictured on the cover as if from an outtake of Game Of Thrones.

It opens matching a slow strumming electric guitar to a synth sound to great atmospheric affect. Her vocals when they appear are almost spat out at times while others are subject to echo - It is minimalist however incredibly intense

"Riding in on a white horse thinking

I should have stayed at home

Holding on to the silent nights

I spent all on my own

My mirror shows those stormy eyes

i've come to know so well

Fake a smile for all too see

Oustide the gate of hell"

It paints of picture someone forcing themselves to emerge from solitude even if their heart isn't completely in it hence the smile needing to be faked and that feeling of rather staying at home.

The chorus by contrast seems to explode into life, with the percussion becoming more prominent and the subtle use of piano placed perfectly accentuating the chorus.

"My Princess Tower is taller than Fiona's - she's the lucky one in my book

My fire breathing dragon is deceiving - he could kill with just one look"

The second chorus sees a return to the mood of the first

"The sky outside my window panes a picture I can't reach

A taste of something beautiful and just too good for me

I'm haunted by this empty room and shadows on the wall

I try to leave but no one's there to catch me if I fall"

Once again the feelings of doubt and loneliness are clearly in the lyrics and in the pained way that Caitlin delivers them. a little Welsh twang audible in he voice, each word in a line seemingly individually picked and given a different intonation, sometimes with a slight pause, which gives the song it's unique sound and feel.

This is the first song that along with 3 others also recorded in Tennessee will make up Caitlin's next EP. If the rest are as strong as this, then Caitlin seems destined for a busy 2023