Iona Luke – “Can We Still Hang Out?”
Photo by Daisy Lola
UK-based indie artist Iona Luke leads us on a journey through confessional bitterness and longing in the indie rock track “Can We Still Hang Out?.”
“Can We Still Hang Out?” captures that particular kind of emotional wreckage and exhausted humanity that only bands like Fleetwood Mac seem to get right. A song that bleeds its heart out whilst being surrounded by the soft focus of guitars, bruised analog warmth and a rhythm section that pushes onward like somebody driving home at 2am.
The song ebbs and flows sublimely in a slow burn of pure emotion, moving from the tender, melancholic intimacy of warbling tremolo and brittle acoustic guitar to widescreen, radio-friendly swells of indie rock. The music feels like the distillation of the anthemic soar of the Stereophonics, the brooding unease of Sharon Van Etten, and again Fleetwood Mac. I especially like the stumbling “Go Your Own Way”-style drum groove that stirs beneath the surface before the final crescendo.
“Can We Still Hang Out?” has some strikingly honest lyrics that elaborate on feelings of self-sacrifice and resentment. These feelings are messily intertwined with devotion and attachment in a relationship where Iona Lukeis trying to make sense of being emotionally consumed and exhausted by another person. This emotion is navigated expertly, with Iona Luke delivering a beautifully breathy and sensitive performance that rises into wounded intensity over the choruses.
Shimmering, frayed and brimming with a cinematic sense of heart, “Can We Still Hang Out?” is one not to be missed! Connect with Iona Luke here: Spotify | Instagram | TikTok
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