Her soft, dreamy voice enchants the listener into a nostalgic haze as she reminisces over her past love, allowing us to join her in the experience. Gentle acoustic strums and delicate piano lines underscore her storytelling, creating a soundscape that feels both intimate and cinematic.
Vulnerability pulsates through the album, as she channels her pain into a series of reflections. The album’s lead single ‘Avalanches’ encapsulates the theme of the project perfectly: as she sings “You’re not in my bed anymore / What was it for? / I’d do it all again, again, again”. While the latter two lines are seemingly contradictory, they are realistic of a troubled psyche. She is laying bare her whole self, and the end product is a record that is astonishingly human.
The first half of the album sees Joni working through her pain, comprehending her complicated feelings towards her old lover. It’s mellow but sharp, and reaches full force on soft ballad ‘Birthday’. Here, Joni reworks the classic celebratory song by extending and infusing it with deeply layered poignancy. She sings “I spent the years / Thinking you’d always be there”... “but we’re not in love like before” around the traditional chorus. The sadness bleeds into her half-hearted “Happy birthday to you” as she realises her track is the only space for her to proclaim this now.
Nostalgia weaves through the record as the common thread tying the tracks together. Much of ‘Things I Left Behind’ is slow, as she allows time for her heart to heal. However, the pacing slightly accelerates towards the album’s conclusion, in tracks ‘The Tide’ and ‘Still Young’.
‘The Tide’ in particular stands out as Joni switches gloomy for broody vocals, over a steady, pulsing bassline. This track showcases her at her most confident, as she sings moodily “When the love is gone, it’s gone for good”. It’s as though she’s resigned to her personal loss, unhappy but unwavering in her acceptance. The steady rhythm mirrors the weight of inevitability, while subtle guitar flourishes and swelling instrumentation add to the track’s simmering intensity.
The album closes with 'PS,' a track where Joni unpacks her conflicting thoughts in a winding, introspective reflection. As the song unfolds, it transforms into a beautifully hopeful outro. “The storm is finally over now” she sings, signalling a quiet sense of resolution. She has made peace with her past, admitting, “I’m glad I got to love you, so you know”, a conclusion that feels honest rather than idealised, mirroring the same maturity evident throughout the record as she consistently chooses acceptance over vengeance. So when she finally declares, “I’m finally moving on”' we believe her.
Zahra Hanif
Image: Charlotte Patmore
