March Music Writing Challenge Day 1: Hemlocke Springs

This album is a great start to this March Music Writing Challenge. It’s full of a few of my favorite things; funky synths, honesty, and catchy melodies. I first found Hemlocke Springs on TikTok, as many others did. Her song girlfriend went viral, and shortly after, she released stranger danger! (my personal #1), and I’m pretty confident that single also did NUMBERS.

Thankfully, she kept producing music. “going…going…GONE!”, released in September of 2023, is drenched in bright colors, sickening beats, and pushes the envelope in exciting ways.

What I wasn’t expecting when listening to this album, was that all of the color was used strategically to hide the darkness that lives beneath the surface of these tracks. Many of these songs express changing yourself or dimming your light to be more palatable for a lover, something we all know isn’t a long-term solution and only leads to further heartbreak.

“going…going…GONE!” makes me feel like a kid walking through the doors and into their first candy store. Bright lights, colorful candy of all shapes and sizes, and pure wonder as far as the eye can see.

When you’re young, you sing songs without listening closely to the lyrics or digesting the purpose, and this album is a PERFECT representation of that. If it sounds sparkly, it's fun…except when it’s really about losing yourself and conforming to someone else’s idealized version of you.

I highly recommend giving this album your attention. The runtime is just 21 minutes, and worth every single second. You can stream her music on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, and more.

Artist Links & Handles -

Website: https://www.hemlockesprings.net/

IG: @hemlockesprings

TikTok: @hemlockesprings

X: @hemlockesprings