Simply, heartbreakingly beautiful, the latest single from Guise is a deeply personal, affecting song that will remain with you long after listening. Everything, from Guise’s performance to her sensitive words, is so open. In ‘Wish’, Guise truly gives of herself – it’s powerfully authentic and totally disarming. She addresses her father directly, singing to him about her life now and, if you’ve ever felt the loss of a loved one, then lines like, “I wish you’d grown old…Have I made you proud,” will resonate. Guise’s voice is typically gorgeous, displaying her fine control and and range while the instrumentation – piano, strings and mandolin – is warm and rich like the glowing sun on the water.
Guise explains: ‘Wish’ is a conversation with my Dad, who died suddenly when I was 18. It’s my best attempt at expressing the continued pain of losing someone you love, and what it’s been like learning to carry that love around without him still being here to receive it. Music was a shared language for us and this is the closest I can get to feeling like I’m still actually talking to him. He was the wisest person I’ve ever known and navigating the world without his advice has been a hard and relentless challenge, really. I always, always want to know what he’d think, especially about what I write. I was already proud of this song but recording it with my dear friend Lukas Drinkwater, who connected to it so personally and brought some completely fresh ideas to the table along with his incredible musicianship, has resulted in something that neither of us expected. It was such a joy to see the song grow in the studio like that, and I think it’s become my favourite thing I’ve made to date. I’m about as sure as I can ever be that my Dad would like this one.”
Visually, the video is straightforward and simple: just Jess Guise singing as the sun sets over the estuary. However, that is all that is required and fits perfectly with the raw emotion of the lyrics and Guise’s vocal delivery. This is Guise’s first release since the 2022 album ‘Youngest Daughter’, which she described as a, “…wander through the various ways I’ve tried to follow my heart over the years.” It’s full of honest, autobiographical songs that balance humour with heart. Check it out.
