Review: "honey rose" - Ivy Bae
- Taylor Sheridan Lempke
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
Ivy Bae’s latest release, “honey rose,” pours power into delicate guitar strings and a fragile relationship. Ivy Bae expresses the common fear of breaking away from a relationship, asking, “Who am I without them?” She poetically expresses her agony, “Decompose like it’s fine/ on the weeks I’m without him he’s a shrine.” The relationship is one-sided. Ivy Bae falls apart while he thrives. But there’s an underlying question of how long she should sacrifice her happiness. Surely, independence might offer something more. The resilience to push past that fear, and the times when you can’t answer the question, point to the strength in your identity.
“honey rose” is a breath of fresh air. The gentle acoustic strings flow like dandelions passing through the wind. Delicacy is where her power thrives. The tempo is slow, leaving room to breathe in and out and take small sips of a cup of tea. The melody plays with an uplifting bounce like the soft freedom on a backyard swing. Ivy Bae balances melancholy with the longing to break free and be her own person. Her whispery, tender voice resembles Half Shy's vocals that ease listeners. The background vocals sound like they’re pushing you higher.
Ivy Bae, also known as Matilda Eriksson, is a songwriter and producer. Adrianne Lenker, Boygenius, and The Staves inspire her themes of love, longing, and loss. She released her debut single, “Apples,” in 2018, a slow-tempo tune that leans heavily into a vocoder. Since then, she has collaborated with AKA lisa on her 2022 single “any port,” and her 2023 single “parade.” Ivy Bae has drifted away from the subtle techno sound into folk music.
Written By Taylor Sheridan Lempke
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