Irish songwriter Aoife Nessa Frances has signed to Partisan Records and is promising a follow-up to her beloved debut album Land Of No Junction in the near future. While we don’t have the details of it yet, we do have a gorgeous new song called “Emptiness Follows”, with Frances saying:
“‘Emptiness Follows’ is about the intimacy and deep emotional connection of friendship. The song captures these moments — the water as the weight of the emotional connection we share, the small details we remember ‘the shape sits beneath your earlobe’. The movement and colour of the music, the harp constantly flowing throughout, are emphasising a profound importance in acknowledging an eternal kind of love. I wanted my voice to be close and up front and vulnerable like Serge Gainsbourg’s ‘ Histoire de Melody Nelson’’.
The simple but plush arrangement of “Emptiness Follows” – flute, harp, lightly clicking percussion, minute waves of keyboard – easily conjures an intimately warm and alluring place. Frances’ voice fits perfectly into this world, that Gainsbourg style she wanted firmly intact as she draws us closer in – even as she’s “counting time away from you”. She is forlorn in the painful chorus – “emptiness follows me” – and yet she does not sound pitiful; she’s been through this dance of emotions many times before, and knows how to handle herself, even if it’s painful. Rather than allow the weight of the feeling crush the song, it ascends into a dazzlingly regal arrangement of brass that floats like a silver cloud over everything, a sign from the future that everything will turn out alright; love always shines through.
Watch the video for “Emptiness Follows” below or listen to it on streaming platforms.
“Emptiness Follows” is out on Partisan. You can find Aoife Nessa Frances on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
