After dropping her debut album On Hold in 2018, Bristolian singer songwriter Fenne Lily toured Europe and spent time on the festival circuit, before holing up in Berlin to pen a follow up. That new record, Breach, is a deeply personal offering, much like her first, only this time there are a far wider range of elements under the microscope, which isn’t surprising. On Hold was written when Lily was just a teenager, while this record, in her own words, “is proof that I can be emotionally stable, even if right now I feel a little bit up and down”.

After the spacey, ethereal opener To Be A Woman Part One, Alapathy ushers in some juddery guitars and drums and is her most upbeat track to date, before Berlin charms with it’s delicate melody and soulful vocals. I, Nietzsche is a wonderful mid-tempo affair carefully puncatuated by a beautiful yet simple guitar riff and breezy vocals, while Birthday is a deliciously dark break up song complete with strings and the lyrics “You sent me a head on my birthday / You said it was made with love / It made me laugh / We talked about getting married / And now I hate your guts but I can’t shut up”.

New single Solipsism takes the ‘upbeat’ crown, with its fuzzy, rock guitars and crashing drums. Writing on her official Facebook page, Lily describes the song as being “for anyone who has been or still is scared of everything – for anyone who feels like Louis Theroux at parties – for myself looking back on 21 as a weird time, not the end of the world.”

There’s more sharp lyrical angst on the superbly titled and mournfully slow I Used To Hate My Body But Now I Just Hate You as Lily sings “I read all of the books you recommended / I listened to your friend’s band of the time / You justify and satiate my hunger / For not feeling alright”, before Someone Else’s Trees and Laundry And Jet Lag wind things up in gentle, acoustic fashion.

Breach is certainly a different kind of record to its predecessor. It’s more expansive but, if anything, manages to feel even more introspective than her first album, but every bit as brilliant. Watch the official video for Solipsism here.

Breach tracklist:

1. To Be A Woman Part One

2. Alapathy

3. Berlin

4. Elliott

5. I, Nietzsche

6. Birthday

7. Blood Moon

8. Solipsism

9. I Used To Hate My Body But Now I Just Hate You

10. ‘98

11. Someone Else’s Trees

12. Laundry And Jet Lag

Author: Joe Sharratt

Joe Sharratt is a writer and journalist based in the UK covering music, literature, sport, and travel.