Phoebe Green has been on a steady upwards trajectory for a long time now – consistently wowing in high profile support slots including legends Swim Deep and Courteeners, and putting out funky retro tunes that are as irresistible as they are groovy. Crowned one of our ones to watch way back in January, she’s closing off 2020 with a bang on her brand-new EP I Can’t Cry For You, cementing herself as one of our favourite rising stars, as well as December’s Artist of the Moment.
Our first taste of I Can’t Cry For You was Green’s song of the summer, the moody sprawl of Reinvent. Striking a flawless balance between easy breezy and drifting melancholy, Green’s lowkey vocals and twinkling instrumental are enchanting and subtle – the perfect backdrop for her lyrical candour. Green’s songwriting is consistently, addictively vulnerable throughout the EP – be it the desolation of Golden Girl or the jagged darkness of Grit, there’s always a distinct reality running through every song.
Green’s writing has always been silky and smart, but where she really starts to shine on I Can’t Cry For You is her luscious instrumentals. Her penchant for an indie-pop hook that you can dance (and cry) to is still as bright as ever, but the intricacies she weaves are a sonic stretch into the dreamy soundscape she’s been scraping the surface of for a while. On I Can’t Cry For You, she’s fully sinking in. A World I Forgot is a jagged haunt of bass and falsetto, Grit is a deliciously grinding, growing jam, Golden Girl is a breathlessly dark night-time drive, and of course Reinvent is a ray of sunshine that somehow slinks as it soars.
Green’s made a statement of ambition with I Can’t Cry For You – it’s a dizzying, delightful listening experience that promises that Green is pushing her own boundaries as fast as she’s nailing her trademarks. With every new release, takes us all somewhere new – and proves herself an even more essential part of the indie landscape.
I Can’t Cry For You is out now.
