English pop singer-songwriter Holly Låpsley Fletcher, known as Låpsley, has shared a second single from her forthcoming EP, These Elements, out this Friday, Dec. 6. The single is called “Ligne 3,” named after a Paris tram system, and shows the young singer continuing her downtempo approach to pop with a narrative about attempting to let go of lost love.
“Ligne 3” feels like an exercise in musical restraint, with a slow progression of chimes and synth opening up the track to Fletcher’s intimate vocal performance. This minimal approach serves to underscore the chilling feeling of unwanted solitude her lyrics convey: “Light fills the room with heat / But my cold words freeze the scene.”
The track expands as it reaches its chorus, with a deep house rhythm punctuating the simple but resonant statement that “It’s not easy letting go, it’s not that simple.” The beauty of this track lies in its universality of existing in a sort of purgatory between a past love life and a future path alone. At some point, each of us has or will experience this heart-wrenching dilemma of being stuck between two selves—one that can only be solved by the slow progression of time.
Fletcher explained the genesis of the single in a statement, explaining how it was written in the immediate aftermath of a traumatic breakup:
I wrote it a few days after I split up with my ex-boyfriend. It’s about the complexity of a breakup and actually I wanted to paint a picture of the day that we broke up—the things that were said and what went down. It’s about the realization that you don’t just fall out of love with someone, that’s not how life works.
These Elements is set for release this Friday, Dec. 6, on XL Recordings and can be preordered here. You can listen to “Ligne 3” below, and find Låpsley’s EP details and tour dates further down.
These Elements Album Art:
These Elements Tracklist:
1. My Love Was Like The Rain
2. Eve
3. Ligne 3
4. Drowning
Låpsley 2020 Tour Dates:
January
27 – Berlin, Germany @ Badehaus
28 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Cinetol
29 – Paris, France @ Le Boule Noire
30 – London, U.K. @ Chats Palace