This work is stunning, captivating, and a tad eerie in how Gnat portrays raw and bittersweet emotions. The beauty of this tune is how they bring pieces of fabric of their experiences as a jazz-trained vocalist, an educated poet and a self-taught instrumentalist and create a quilt of alternative-folk brilliance.
Within "Fill", Gnat brings to life the texturised feelings of heartache after a relationship ends. The release opens with a cavernous layering of minor-tuned acoustic guitars that almost feels other-worldly and melancholic. It feels equally empty, rattling through a cave echoing and equally full from the textures and harmonies it provides as they gently lull above the instrumentation.
Each moment in this project allows us to see how they make sense of the normal expectations of moving on. There is a need for someone or something to take up the space that is now hollow, and there is an immense struggle not to fill the void. "Muscle memory demands I fill your absence / at least until I fill my hands".
They grapple with possible thoughts, "Do I accept being alone for a time to pass and aid in healing or to jump into another without fully mourning to escape the lonely and cold silence in the aftermath"? "I found another, but his lips weren't right".
It's a sincere and authentic microscopic look into the unravelling sickening hunger for emotional longing and ending a dissociative state. Gnat manages to piece together the gnawing physical, emotional, and mental pain that you try to numb to push through to return to the new normal of living. "I've been nauseous all day / I've been living off photos and peeling paint / can't imagine what you'd say".
The last part of this lyric is so poignant as it is that relentless ache, wondering how your previous partner may react if they knew what you were doing. Would they be concerned; would they care; would they come back; do they remember what we're like?
Gnat is bringing unmatched penmanship and songwriter talent to the ears of listeners. To listen to "Fill" is to have a bone-chilling and moving experience. Their ability to mesmerise an audience and take them through this visceral emotional spiral is unmatched. It's a song that, when we heard it, we were transported back to feelings of past heartbreaks. We let those emotions swell and reflect on how each time it's a similar feeling, but we do end up okay on the other side.
The emotional ride of this single is worth repeating and having as a recommendation for others to get swept into. We are beyond intrigued to see how Gnat continues to explore their solo project after time, with hopefully more equally brilliant releases to come.
Tyra Baker
Image: ‘Fill’ Official Single Cover
