When you were once so close with someone, do those feelings ever really disappear?
With her debut single Sunday, POLLY taps into the bittersweet feeling of an ex that keeps coming back. It’s a radio-ready ballad, channelling raw heartache flecked with moments of hope – could it be different this time?
The England-born, Melbourne-based artist knows this feeling is almost universal. “You say that you miss me / but do you really / it is cause you’re lonely?: the opening lines cut straight to the heart of the matter.
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Her voice, at once fragile and strong, melds well with a familiar pop groove: ’80s synths, skittering high hats and reverberating electronic claps.
Though the single channels electro-pop giants like Fletcher, Tate McRae and CXLOE, echos of POLLY’s acoustic past can still be felt in the sing-along quality and vocal projections.
“It’s actually a really sad song, but I wanted it to be boppy and something people could still scream at the top of their lungs and sway around to,” says POLLY.
“It’s about that feeling when you haven’t thought about someone who has hurt you for a solid week or month or whatever, and then they message you and all the emotion comes flooding back.”
With “I’ve been thinking lately about how you saved me / I wonder if you saved yourself” she dwells on the codependent quality of relationships and stories that are left unfinished when things fall apart. No matter how much someone hurts you, it’s hard to forget the moments when things were good.
“[I] want music to sound like it belongs in Stranger Things but with a sensual, pop element. ’80s music is a huge inspiration and I want to bring back melodies and riffs from that era,” she says.
With a zealous passion that shines clearly in this single and new material on the way later this year, POLLY is only getting started.
To keep up to date with new music from POLLY, follow her on Instagram here.
This article was made in partnership with POLLY.
