It’s been a hot minute since we heard from London-based artist Ellie Bleach (or rather a full year to be precise since her last single “I Thought I Saw You Last Night“). Fear not, as the wait for new music from the highly promising new artist is here at last. Coming out via Sad Club Records, “Doing Really Well Thanks” has that Bleach-brand sardonic edge to it from the title alone. Speaking about her new single, Bleach said:
“It’s set in the period when I returned to my parents’ suburban home for a few months and felt totally lost. I used to liken the process of finding a job to dating, you’re essentially tricking someone into wanting you, presenting a version of yourself that doesn’t exist and hoping they don’t see through your facade. It’s filled with superficial luxuries, like spiral staircases and Egyptian cotton sheets but there’s an ever present sense of loneliness and desperation. The reality of being a cold-hearted girlboss type is a lot more depressing than you’d think. Literally everyone is winging it.“
Sung from the perspective of a woman on the precipice of high life, Bleach’s storytelling talent is one full show in “Doing Really Well Thanks”, capturing details of all kinds as well as throwing out lines that veteran songwriters would kill for. “This city is a buffet / Just don’t fill up on the bread” and “I’ve done awful things for money / But you’ve all done worse for free” sit among the best, but it’s the chorus line that captures that sense of underlying despair and loneliness that wealth presents. “Please don’t ask me how I am / I think you knew the answer when you went to kiss my hand,” she requests with an exhaustion hiding between each word. All these lyrics coupled with a baroque arrangement of jangly piano, hiccuping drums, and fittingly spiralling electric guitar notes, the whole thing stirred together is a sure-fire hit for Bleach and a pleasure to put on repeatedly.
Listen to “Doing Really Well Thanks” below or via your preferred streaming site.
“Doing Really Well Thanks” is out now via Sad Club Records. Stay up to date with Ellie Bleach via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
