‘Try to find new light / But comfort like this is hard to come by.’
Those were my exact thoughts when I listened to upcoming indie track, ‘Old Doors’, performed ineffably by the multi-instrumentalist performer: Hallworth. This London-based artist has had quite the journey – from releasing her debut single at only nineteen years old to performing galvanic, rock-the-boat live shows on Battersea Barge, she has a passion that will leave no door unopened!
Having written this softly cinematic track back in 2019, it encompasses the poignant concept of keeping an unwise relationship alive that ought to have ended.
It has this visual charm of a rainy day on the metro, you’re watching the rainfall hit the windows and you have a multitude of background noises to tune into, but somehow you’re disconnected – you’re in a world of heart-breaking stagnancy. I can easily see this track being implemented in a will they/won’t they portion of a romantic flick (minus the cheese).
The beautifully morose notion of broken romances is essentially the epitome of the indie genre, however Hallworth delivers such an emotional impact that every note revitalises this idea effortlessly.
Anyway, enough of yours truly, let’s take a nosedive into this gorgeous indie single! We are immediately introduced to a crestfallen guitar riff, crafting the petal-soft stage of adagio tempos and moderately quaint dynamics, welcoming Hallworth’s alluring vocals.
Bolstered by the mellifluous heartbeats of the drums, the listener is ebbed into a synergy of cosy harmonies as Hallworth delivers a pure and authentic vocal performance. Her voice is reminiscent of the innocent melodic twang you hear in Gabrielle Aplin’s vocals, but permeates such a rich, soulful gravitas that truly acts as the strong backbone for the track.
I absolutely adore how the tones of the instrumentation and Hallworth’s voice compliments each other, and yet has that flare of creativity with contrasting timbres. Specifically, Hallworth has a brighter quality that alludes to an undercurrent of hope that her circumstances will change one day.
It’s such a powerful self-portrait to relay to the listener who has likely experienced the dark lull of a relationship that has a negative impact overall. We experience her moments of strength in freeing herself from this relationship, but we also see her vulnerabilities as she finds herself back in the lure of this person. Personally, this is the most raw single I have heard this year.
We are left on a haunting diminuendo with the last line being a delve into introspection that ripples into the silence. It has the impact to make people reflect and burrow into that repeat button just to experience the emotional journey of the track and see how they can relate.
Following tracks like ‘Will You Love Me Later’ and ‘Staying Over’, ‘Old Doors’ has taken a distinct departure into the more painful side of love but doesn’t stray from the professionalism behind the production quality we have come to know from Hallworth.
The track is constructed in such a way that it fits perfectly into this youthful kaleidoscope of romantic memories and emotions, I would happily listen to a Hallworth album of this calibre. Especially, having been influenced by pop artist, Julia Michaels, I’m very excited to see how Hallworth may branch out into similar sub-topics of that scary thing we call love. I don’t want to say I’m shamelessly hinting, but I may be shamelessly hinting.
‘Old Doors’ is out now, so grab your autumn jumpers, crack out the pumpkin lattes and let’s get sad-happy about love.
Hallworth’s Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6L0CKO1I8Xi5YzaSDJ8SLG
Hallworth’s Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/hallworthmusic/?hl=en
Hallworth’s SoundCloud:
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