After an acclaimed debut, UK’s Chloe Foy continues a hot streak with her sophomore album.
Chloe Foy (originally from Gloucestershire) has been building a solid reputation over a number of years, with singles and EPs starting from 2013 till the release of her highly acclaimed debut album, “Where Shall We Begin”, in 2021. That CD largely revolved around the death of her father from depression and speaks to the grieving process that led to the song cycle on the album. The tone is rather downbeat, starting with the title track with a rather ethereal and hymnic sound. After an album that reflected upon the effect of the death of her father, Foy now releases her sophomore album that has a different, lighter emotional tone, but with enhanced instrumentation, that is also reflective of difficulties in her life, predominantly the ending of a long term relationship, and intermittent bouts of depression, plus the disruption caused by the pandemic.
“A year of new friends, old friends, shedding the year before, grieving the life before, of playing festivals, of writing new music, of releasing new music, of deepening good habits, of still enjoying bad habits, of no pressure, of loving, of growing, of hurting but being gentle with myself and the world”, is how Chloe summed up the then-recent past in a Facebook post in late December 2024. The ending of the relationship referred to above is dealt with in a way that seems quite cathartic for Foy, as she processes elements of it that reflect jubilant highs as well as depressing lows. Her ability to shed both light and dark in her songs is remarkable and allows the versatility in her voice to shine through.
The album has been ushered in by a number of singles; the one that seems to resonate most on a personal level seems to be ‘I Tried so Hard to Disappear’ a very relatable song about depression which swoops and soars as Foy sings initially over a strummed acoustic guitar before ever-present strings join in with gentle guitar, bass and drums (courtesy of Henry Fausing Smith, Leo Clarke and Harry Harding respectively throughout the album). Her voice has a wistful, vulnerable quality, not unlike Laura Marling, and this track and many others have her voice multi-tracked with wordless or indecipherable choruses that give the album a kind of choral effect. Indeed, the last two tracks sound very much like hymns, the quite beautiful duet with Eli Carvajal ‘What I’d give’: “What I’d give for a life / One I’d hold dear, in delight / Roll your head down the line / Take your time dear, without fight / Getting to heaven in time.”
And the closer ‘Empires of Dust’ with George Boomsma underpinning the song with tasteful piano: “When I fell for more than the idea of you / I fell in love with you / So hold me closer than you held onto her / And whisper my name in empires of dust.”
The album is generally on the slower side, but it allows Foy to stretch out lyrically and vocally, while the underlying rhythms of the songs show subtle changes throughout, helping to throw light and shade across the subject matter; there is a great tune, ‘Elephant in the Room’, slow before a gentle backbeat and melancholic lyrics of heartbreak and betrayal, the slightly bluesy loping ‘Blinkers’ with its whispered verse before her voice powers through the chorus, and the lilting opener, the title track which starts with a wordless ‘choir’ before the gorgeous tune (a little like a nursery rhyme) begins with lyrics that reflect on the doomed relationship “I am in mourning for a life I once led / You write the pages and I stay in bed / Where is the lightness you promised instead / I am the only thing real in your head”.
The doomed relationship was with the afore-mentioned Fausing Smith, who also took to Facebook: “As most of you will know, Chloe was my partner of 10+ years, and though we are no longer together, this record showcases how successful our partnership was in so many ways, and is a scarily/beautifully vulnerable and honest account of our relationship”. Remarkable, then, that Fausing Smith not only plays guitar on the album but produces it, too.
Foy has a lovely voice, which is allowed to shine in front of some very subtle vocal backing and largely acoustic instruments, all overladen with sweeping strings courtesy of Fausing Smith. It is a very fine record that cements Foy’s standing as one of the outstanding purveyors of pop-infused indie folk in the UK.
