Orla Gartland has pulled my heart to pieces (again) with her latest EP Freckle Season. With a voice like maple syrup and lyrics straight out of a raw diary entry the songs feel incredibly real. As always, I love the contrast of Orla’s bright vocals with heavier instrumentation. The bass plays a dominant role in her music, and she demonstrates her expertise as a guitarist through using innovative lines and rhythms. Freckle Season is more brooding than her previous discography, and appears to mark a transition into a new era of songwriting.

The EP starts with Did it to Myself, which uses empty space and crunchy vocal harmonies in a way that will give goose bumps to your goose bumps. Orla has a way of connecting with the doubt that lives in the back of your brain. Her lyrics feel like they were written for everyone.

Figure it Out begins with a steady palm mute, building tension and hinting at the explosion of angst waiting for us in the chorus. Orla keeps us waiting with a dreamy pre chorus, pulling back the energy before releasing a monster of a chorus driven by distorted vocals. She plays with energy levels and implied tension for the duration of the song. Figure it Out is a punch the air, roll your eyes and pull the finger at your ex kind of a song.

The final single on Freckle Season lowers the energy considerably, delving into a more thoughtful moment of grief. The swirling electric piano evokes nostalgia, linking with the themes of remembering the good things about a relationship. The specificity in the lyrics give the song sincerity. Orla is reminded of her love by every stripy tshirt, and the show Grand Designs. It’s too real to be fiction, and you can hear it in her voice.

Orla has a talent for taking every day thoughts and turning them to art. The fourth track on the EP, oh GOD explores Catholic guilt and a resentment for rules. The shifts in timing make you feel like you’re shaking your head to get rid of a crazy idea, or “shake off the shame”. It’s an impressive piece of songwriting.

New Friends completes the ingenious EP on a more mellow note. The gentle low fi guitar line is reminiscent of Rusty Clanton’s writing, and her conversational lyrics make the piece feel like a peek into a journal. Orla wonders how she must be thought of by her ex’s new friends, but it’s not in a bitter way. The song feels mature, and meditative. It closes the final chapter on her process of grieving for a love that wasn’t to be.

Overall Freckle Season is beautiful. It’s a complex and thoughtful collection of songs, whose lyrics are closer to poetry than words. The theme of moving through the stages of a breakup unite the EP, giving it meaningful direction. Orla should be proud of this moving anthology, which undoubtedly buried a piece of her heart in a time capsule.