Having been the first act that we saw post lockdown, it seems rude not to give mention to Claire Frances's new single "Rabbit Hole". Produced under Lockdown it is therefore a much more pared back effort than her excellent "Sea Of Stars" EP ( which is also well worth investigating ) however this is still a compelling release,
With just an acoustic guitar, the barest minimum of percussion and an etheral background keyboard sound Claire has created a thing of beauty from something of a dark situation.
With the rabbit hole being a metaphor for a somewhat toxic relationship, the song opens in quite a stark fashion, the opening line "Walking home from the movies" a seemingly happy event immediately heads into darker territory and jolts you with the next line
"You took my hand and you threw me down a rabbit hole such a long way to fall"
There is something about the contrast between the gentle guitar line playing while the lyrics seemingly get ever darker that make this track so addictive "I know you never meant to do me any harm but honey you've been slowly breaking my heart"
Claire has a voice that can easily adapt to whatever the soundscape is behind her, "Rabbit Hole" has an almost jazzy feel to it, and her vocal alters throughout the song making her able to convey different emotions at different times, Forinstance with a slight change in volume. the joys in her tones as she sings "You will find happiness again" simply lifts the track.
The song ends on an optimistic note with both parties able to go their separate ways, better apart
"Although I'm sorry that we're losing out on all those hopes and dreams that we've built, but at least we escaped the rabbit hole".
With the promise of further tracks to follow - this is someone we'll be keeping on the #TEAMw21 radar,