Track of the Day: Lucy McWilliams - 'Break My Own Heart'

Music
24 Aug 22

Lucy McWilliams by Declan Kelly.

The 22-year-old is set to take to the stage at a number of festivals in her Irish homeland in the coming months.

Emerging Irish singer-songwriter Lucy McWilliams is back with a shimmering new single, 'Break My Own Heart'.

The track follows the release of the Dublin native's demos for ‘The Woman In Me’ and ‘Medication’ in the last few months. ‘Break My Own Heart’ offers up another dose of warm aesthetics and compelling songwriting, laced together with her own unique voice.

Channeling the familiar insecurities we all feel within serious relationships, her soft vocals float across vibrant dream-pop production, continuing her forward-thinking approach to date.

"Just like smoke, I don't know where you go/I'm trying to know the part of you that you don't know yourself/Maybe you're scared if I see inside, I'll go and look for someone else," she opens on the glittering indie-pop number, driven by acoustic guitar riffs and alluring background instrumentation.

"And it gets so hard dying for attention, I wish that I could break my own heart."

Speaking about the new release, Lucy said, “Break My Own Heart is about self-sabotage within a relationship; being scared of being close to someone so you intentionally push them away before they can cause heartbreak to you. It’s that fear of rejection and preparing yourself for the hurt before they can hurt you.”

McWilliams went to university in Berlin, but is now based in London, where she has driven her career forward by releasing a string of singles since 2020. The offerings have garnered over 13 million streams on Spotify alone, leading to a support slot with Arlo Parks at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire.

Since then, Lucy has spent 2021 and the beginning of 2022 honing her sound with friend and frequent collaborator, producer: Charlie Hugall. The result so far has been two demos released in May and June this year, which both tapped into Lucy’s vulnerability as a writer.

The Great Escape, Oberkampf Festival in Paris as well as support shows for Jake Isaac at Woolwich Works and Waterford's All Together Now Festival also made Lucy's to do list in 2022.

As 2022 moves into its final months of the year, we’ll see McWilliams release more music and accompanying visuals. Catch her performing at Electric Picnic in September as well as Irish Music Week in October.

Listen to 'Break My Own Heart' below.