Fenne Lily ‘Breach’ Review

Fenne Lily’s sophomore album ‘Breach’ encompasses what it is like to be a modern woman in your twenties, and all the emotional weight and existential questioning that comes with the territory. She uses this opportunity to showcase the growth in her personal and musical journey since her first record and in doing so makes one of the most impactful albums of 2020 so far.

It’s an album that feels Intimate from the first track with its dreamy distant guitars and emotionally vulnerable subject matter. 

While it is easy to understand why many people put her in direct comparison with other talented singer-songwriters like Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus or Julia Jacklin, the crux of Fenne Lily’s charm is her relatability and openness in her lyricism, which makes each song feels like a post-night out heart to heart with a friend. 

I implore you to see the different stylistic choices she makes from song to song as less about drawing comparison to other artists but as an example of her musical and emotional range.

Initially the concept of an album about loneliness and isolation doesn’t particularly appeal in a time where that seems to be the only thing we can talk about, but in exploring the difference between being lonely and being alone Fenne Lily offers a refreshing sense of hope and resilience to the subject matter with her sentiments of “fuck falling apart” and “it’s not hard to be alone anymore”.

Perhaps it's the fact that her isolation was self-imposed but there is a feeling of vulnerability and authenticity to this album that shines through in the lyrics even when the instrumentation doesn’t feel particularly daring or bold. 

Fenne Lily clearly went into isolation with the purpose of introspecting and in writing about finding herself she lets us in on her mental journey. It is this clear sense of self-awareness and purpose that

removes her from the masses of “heartbreak singer-songwriters” and makes this album a standout.

In the end this album left me feeling like the silver lining to my impending isolation might just be that this album lends itself to multiple listens and luckily, is varied enough to warrant them.

Dilara Ball