There's a particular thrill to feeling the calloused places of your heart soften. Where joy was once a mere fantasy in your mind, now it is tangibly felt. This is the exhilarating pulse animating Ettie's latest single "Until I Met U." The sound is reminiscent of 90's-00's grunge-pop—such as Liz Phair—wrapping tight hooks in gravelly bass and drums. Though there's a warmth in the vocals and lyrics that feel like opening the blinds and casting everything in a warm glow. The London-based artist uncovers her rougher edges to express the euphoria felt by letting some light in.
"I've never had a heartbeat so intense," Ettie remarks before the song bursts into the cadence of a racing heart. It's on this direct, visceral level that "Until I Met U" works so well. On a deeper level, the song argues that there are some experiences that can only be felt. For Ettie, love had been nothing more than "lines in a book that I once read." Perhaps accurate and authentic, but impossible to engage with someone bereft of the experience. It isn't until she falls in love herself that she fully grasps the significance of love and the parts that needed to heal in order to accept it. With this in mind, "Until I Met U" best functions as an experience: butterflies, a racing heart, or sensation returning to a numb limb. You have to listen to feel it.
Ettie is a London-based pop-punk musician. Last year, she released her debut single, "Manic Pixie Dream Girl," featuring five spectacular tracks. Until I Met U is her first release of 2022. Ettie's focus as a songwriter is expressing authentic LGBTQ stories through music in bold and honest fashion. The immediacy of her songwriting amplifies the power of each song's lyrics.
Written By Andy Mockbee
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